Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland, leading a 5-member delegation, called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister House on Thursday.
Appreciating the Commonwealth’s consistent support for Pakistan’s socio-economic and democratic institutions, the Prime Minister reaffirmed the Government’s desire to work with the Commonwealth on issues of common interest, particularly on youth empowerment, good governance and climate change.
Noting that young people below the age of 30 accounted for two-thirds of Pakistan’s population, the Prime Minister said providing modern education and technical training to the youth was one of the Government’s highest priorities.
He highlighted the various initiatives taken by the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme and reiterated the Government’s commitment to working with the Commonwealth to help Pakistan’s youth by enhancing access and opportunities for them in today’s high-tech global economy.
Secretary-General Scotland appreciated the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme and said that the Prime Minister’s leadership and direct supervision of this Programme was reflective of his personal interest and commitment to youth empowerment initiatives.
In order to further improve the performance of government departments and know progress in real time, Ms Patricia offered the Commonwealth’s Performance Management System. She also invited Pakistan to join the Commonwealth Artificial Intelligence Consortium.
The Prime Minister expressed keen desire to evaluate the Commonwealth Performance Management System for further improving governance and transparency in Pakistan’s public sector. He also welcomed the invitation to join CAIC where Pakistan’s youth will have opportunities for training and could benefit from global innovations such as cloud computing and generative AI and shall be more empowered to play their role in sustainable economic development.
