Staff Reporter
Muhammad Usman Dar, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Youth Affairs held a meeting with a delegation from embassy of Japan including Tokita Yuji and Doi Takemi along with UNDP’s representatives Ignacio Artaza and Laura Sheridan.
Welcoming the delegates, Mr. Dar extended thanks for the continued support of Japanese government in diverse fields, especially assistance programmes offered for human resource development especially youth. Mr. Dar stressed for collaboration regarding implementation of various Japanese assisted projects in order to maximize their benefits for development of youth in Pakistan. “We greatly appreciate the scholarships offered by Japan to Pakistani students and youth. We are looking forward to enhancing these scholarships; focusing on skills development of our youth”, added Mr. Dar.
SAPM highlighted the need for collaboration with different embassies in Islamabad and coordinating scholarships through PM Kamyab Jawan Programme’s portal for effective communication with the Pakistani youth. “PM’s Kamyab Jawan Programme must serve as a focal point for all public and private sector’s initiatives undertaken for empowering our youth. The Kamyab Jawan Programme’s web portal will host and present all such data to our youth”, emphasized Mr. Dar.
Tokita Yuji said that there is a very good momentum in the bilateral relations between Japan and Pakistan. He said that greater people to people contacts, cultural ties and business relations between the two countries are proof of a strong relationship. Mr. Tokita said that his country is already offering a number of scholarships to young Pakistanis in different areas. “We are working on developing technical internship programmes in Japanese companies for Pakistani youth and will also offer the successful youth to work in Japan. Pakistani youth is very active and passionate about learning new skills and technologies. We are quite happy to share our knowledge with such a youth”, added Mr. Tokita.
SAPM underlined the need for establishment of Project Monitoring Unit (PMU) for the PM’s Kamyab Jawan Programme with joint assistance of Japan, UNDP and other donor agencies. “We want maximum representation in the PMU to ensure collaborative efforts for the development of our youth. We are also quite eager that implementation of our government’s landmark programme is closely monitored for achieving the desired results”, said Mr. Dar.
Ignacio Artaza said that more than 60 % of Pakistani population is below 30 years of age, which provides an ideal opportunity to invest in the country’s human resource. The meeting was also attended by officials of the PM office.
