ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has said that millions of youth have been provided technical training in artificial intelligence, data analytics and cyber security, Pakistan is one of the largest freelancer communities in the world.
Addressing the 11th summit of the D8 countries, the Prime Minister said that he congratulated the Egyptian government and its leadership for hosting the summit while welcoming his brotherly country Azerbaijan as a new member of the D8. I am confident that Azerbaijan, under the able leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, will play a significant role in achieving the goals of the D8.
The Prime Minister said that youth and small and medium enterprises are key drivers of economic growth. Youth are full of energy, new ideas and creativity, SMEs create jobs, promote innovation and local entrepreneurship.
Shahbaz Sharif said that youth empowerment is of utmost importance for the D8 member countries, the theme of this year’s summit “Investing in Youth, Promoting the Trend of Small and Medium Enterprises” is actually a blueprint for our collective prosperity in the 21st century.
He said that investing in youth and promoting the trend towards small and medium enterprises is of utmost importance for our socio-economic development, more than 60 percent of Pakistan’s population consists of people under the age of 30 who can play a significant role in innovation and development.
He said that the Government of Pakistan is committed to providing quality education, creating employment opportunities and providing productive opportunities through its flagship youth program, since 2013, more than 600,000 laptops have been distributed to deserving and capable students and thousands of scholarships have been awarded through this program.
Shahbaz Sharif said that we are focusing on training in the IT sector to equip our youth with modern skills on a large scale, better connect them with the digital world and provide more job opportunities.
Continuing his speech, the Prime Minister said that the Government of Pakistan has given billions of rupees in loans through the Youth Business and Agriculture and Loan Scheme, which aims to put young Pakistanis on their feet. Our other initiatives, such as Start-up Pakistan and the National Innovation Awards, aim to promote a promising, start-up environment and provide incubation opportunities.
The Prime Minister said that the 11th D8 Summit is a rare opportunity for collaboration on SMEs. I am happy to inform you that our cabinet has approved the implementation of the Preferential Trade Agreement with the D8 member countries along with its protocol.
