Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has underscored the importance of investing in youth and supporting the small and medium-sized enterprises, saying that it is imperative for socio-economic growth of the country.
Addressing the D-8 Summit in Cairo on Thursday, the premier said youth as well as the SMEs were major drivers of economic development of any society, emphasising that investing in youth will help build inclusive and robust economies to face the global challenges of today and tomorrow.
He said for Pakistan, investing in youth, and supporting SMEs, was crucial for the country’s socio-economic development, and progress. “With over 60% of our population under the age of 30, we possess, fountain of potential, for innovation and growth.”
The prime minister highlighted that unlocking this potential required provision of the right skills, opportunities and financial resources.
Similarly, he said through the flagship Youth Programme, his government was committed to providing quality education, creating jobs, and offering productive opportunities.
Since 2013, he said this programme under the leadership of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had distributed over 6,00,000 laptops to high achievers, awarded hundreds and thousands of scholarships, and trained a huge cohort of individuals in demand-driven skills such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, and cyber security.
“Pakistan is home to one of the largest freelance communities in the world. We are focusing on IT training at a mass scale to equip our youth with the necessary tools to connect with the digital world and capitalise on those opportunities with the aim to enable job-seekers to become job-creators,” he remarked.
Furthermore, he also talked about the government’s Youth Business and Agriculture, Loan Scheme under which billions in loans had been disbursed, enabling, young Pakistanis, to start and scale their own businesses.
“Additionally, our initiatives, such as, Start-up Pakistan and the National Innovation Award aim to foster, recognise, and, promote a promising, start-up ecosystem, providing mentorship, and funding incubation opportunities for innovative, tech-driven ideas,” he added.
Reflecting on Summit’s theme, “Investing in Youth and Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises,” the premier stressed its relevance in building resilient economies and creating opportunities for sustainable development across member states.
He outlined that for D-8 member-states, empowering youth and entrepreneurship, presented an opportunity, to harness the power of young population, and create environments, where small businesses, could thrive.
The prime minister congratulated the Egyptian government, and its leadership, on hosting, the D-8 Summit — an important platform, or development cooperation, between like-minded countries.
He also welcomed Azerbaijan as a new member of D-8, saying that “under the able leadership of our brother President, IIham Heydar Oglu Aliyev, Azerbaijan will play an important role, in achieving, the objectives of the D8”.
“Today’s Summit offers a valuable opportunity for D-8 countries to share the best practices, pool resources, and create, programs, that support, youth and SMEs across borders,” he said.
He also announced that Pakistan’s cabinet had approved, the implementation of the D-8 Preferential Trade Agreement as well as its protocol, on the Dispute Settlement Mechanism. The premier pointed out that connectivity was a force multiplier and was rightly hailed as a vehicle, for peace and prosperity.
“As emphasised, in the Dhaka Declaration, earlier in 2021, we need to explore, the possibilities, of developing, and enhancing transport connectivity among, D-8 member states, for building, efficient, intra-trade corridors, and reliable supply chains,” he added.
