PM Shehbaz stresses need to invest in country's youth
Pakistan
Expresses gratitude to China for $1billion in loan
ISLAMABAD (APP) - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday stressed that the country had to make huge investments in the youth because the nations that imparted youth with skills and requisite degrees in different fields excelled.
Addressing a ceremony of Prime Minister’s National Innovation Awards, the PM expressed his pleasure over the strides made by the country’s youth in different fields by utilizing their talents and skills. "The country’s future is in the safe hands and the government has to make investments on the youth’s talent as they direly deserved it," he added.
He went on to say that it was a matter of satisfaction as these young people strived during their educational careers and showed their innovative skills in IT sector, biodiesel, traffic lights, motorbike etc. Under Prime Minister’s National Youth Award Programme, a total of Rs160 million were distributed among the 100 talented youths who had achieved innovative business projects.
The PM continued by saying that Pakistan was facing financial challenges, adding that he was confident that his team would steer the country out of these issues. "Such situations arose in the lives of nations and the Pakistani nation has to stay determined and chart its way forward and once they had decided, nothing could hamper it," he added.
Expresses gratitude to China for $1billion in loan
The prime minister also expressed his gratitude to China for supporting Pakistan during the economic constraints by extending $1 billion loan facility.
During the last 75 years, he opined that foreign debts proved a hefty burden upon Pakistan whereas those nations had progressed that utilized the foreign loans and returned it on the basis of their talent, honesty and skills. “We have to get rid of these debts as they could not thrive on the foreign debts,” he said, adding the country was gifted with precious resources.
The PM, without naming the previous government, said that he would not go into details about the man-made crises in the past. "The nation faced challenges and we pledge to change fate of Pakistan without seeking foreign debts," he added.
Referring to 1971, he said they lost one part of Quaid’s Pakistan but never learnt lessons from the past.
He said the leg-pulling and game of allegations must be ceased and all have to agree upon unified national agenda as being practised by different countries. “The whole nation has to decide upon one national agenda with salient contours for foreign and economic policies,” he reiterated.
The prime minister also regretted that words of certain personalities in the previous government had annoyed China.
Despite all this, China stood by Pakistan in difficult time, he said and lauded the role of other brotherly and friendly countries of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar. China had made a $30 billion investment in flagship China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
PM lauds youth's contributions
Terming the achievements of young innovators as ‘outstanding’, the PM lauded the contributions of their teachers and parents, adding that the entire nation was proud of them. "One million rupees to each winner is not sufficient considering the current inflation, as it was less when compared with the past," he added.
In the past, he said as Punjab CM, he introduced Punjab Skills Development company initiative which was first launched in the southern Punjab. "Millions of rupees were spent not on brick and mortar type of structures, but training was imparted to the talented youth," he added.
The government gave away Rs10,000 per student and companies trained them, he added.
He elaborated that that governments always played a catalyst role to spur activities for industries and agriculture. "Thousands of laptops were given to the high achievers in Punjab province on pure merit and they were also distributed in Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir," he added.
The PM said during the Covid pandemic, these laptops helped the students to continue their educational activities besides, providing them with self-employment opportunities. "During Nawaz Sharif's tenure, laptops were also distributed by the federal government," he added.
He said it was his desire to provide laptops to every child of the country.
On the occasion, the prime minister called the ambassador of Azerbaijan on stage and appreciated Azerbaijan leadership for an agreement to supply LNG to Pakistan.
