PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif has emphasized the need for investing in the youth and supporting the small and medium-sized enterprises, saying that such measures would build inclusive and robust economies to face the global challenges of today and tomorrow. Addressing the D-8 Summit in Cairo on Thursday, the premier said the youth as well as the SMEs were major drivers of the economic development of any society, emphasizing that investing in the youth will help build inclusive and robust economies to face the global challenges of today and tomorrow.
Youth being backbone of economy and an engine of development, Egypt deserves appreciation for hosting summit of the D-8 countries on the crucial topic of “Investing in Youth and Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises providing opportunity to the leadership of the organization to share their experiences and forge cooperation in tapping this huge potential for nation-building. The topic assumes greater significance because of the fact that in most of the developing countries, frustration is growing among youth because of the inability of their government to launch policies and offer congenial atmosphere for human resource development and their involvement in fruitful activities, leading to higher rates of unemployment and trends of brain-drains. Pakistan’s 60% population is under the age of 30, which is considered to be a demographic dividend but this huge potential for development cannot be exploited properly without provision of quality education, skills development and financial resources. The Prime Minister spoke with authority at the summit on the issue as he heads the government of a party that is credited with initiation of a number of programmes aimed at welfare of youth. Education and IT promotion have remained priorities for the PML(N) Government besides skills development programmes that are affording opportunites to the youth to engage in gainful activities. As pointed out by the Prime Minister, over six hundred thousand laptops have been provided to students and teachers and the programme has been resumed with renewed zeal by the Federal and Punjab governments. The Prime Minister’s Youth Programme is offering opportunity to hundreds of thousands of students to equip themselves with demand-driven skills like artificial intelligence, data analytics and cyber security.
This focus has made Pakistan home to one of the largest free-lancing communities in the world and is preparing youth to acquire respectable jobs abroad. Billions of rupees are being disbursed as loan among the youth to start and scale their own businesses, which is important in the backdrop of squeezing employment opportunities in the public sector because of structural reforms that envisage closure and merger of different entities. Initiatives like Start-up Pakistan and the National Innovation Award have also been launched to foster, recognize and promote a promising, start-up ecosystem, providing mentorship and funding incubation opportunities for innovative, tech-driven ideas. These and several other initiatives are laudable but the objective of exploiting maximum potential of youth will remain an elusive dream if there is no stability and continuity and a progression of economic activities. There are also serious issues of lack of quality education, obsolete syllabus and fewer opportunities for research and development that is directly linked to the level of economic development. We hope that the D-8 countries will take prompt practical measures to strengthen cooperation in youth development. Apart from offering liberal admissions to students from the member countries in quality institutions of higher learning, the organization may also initiate programme for skills development at technical and vocational institutions. They should share best practices, coordinate policies and mobilize resources to realize the ideal of youth development which is critical for building resilient economies and creating opportunities for sustainable development across member states.
