LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif said on Sunday that country's economic situation was improving due to solid policies of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), as local and foreign investors were keen on putting their money in various sectors.
Talking to PML-N Youth Wing delegation here, he said enhanced investment would generate new jobs, which would ultimately overcome poverty, unemployment and extremism, adding that a comprehensive strategy had been adopted for promoting investment and all facilities were being provided to the investors under a roof. With achievement of GSP-Plus status, he said, Pakistani products would have access to European markets without export duty that would not only increase substantially the exports but also further strengthen Pakistan's economic and trade relations with European countries.
Shahbaz said, Pakistan was lucky as a major portion of its population comprises of youth, who were national asset and the goal of national progress and prosperity could be achieved through their empowerment.
Bright future for Pakistan could be achieved by imparting modern education to the young generation, he said, citing that federal government led by Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif had initiated youth loan scheme to empower the youth and it was a commendable programme that would leave far-reaching impact on the country's progress.
The chief minister said the Punjab government had also evolved several programmes for welfare and development of the youth, and soft-term loans had been provided to young generation under Self Employment Scheme, while decision had also been taken for setting up Punjab Rozgar Bank.
He said provision of scholarships to talented but poor and needy students was continuing thorough Punjab Educational Endowment Fund and more than 50,000 boys and girls were benefiting from this welfare programme.
Besides Punjab, he said, the students of Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and FATA had also been included in this programme due to which the contacts between federating units were increasing and national unity was being promoted.
Shahbaz said a revolutionary Punjab Youth Internship Programme to train 20,000 young workers in private industrial and corporate institutions had been evolved, and they would also be given a monthly stipend of Rs 12,000 during the training period.
Since provision of funds for empowerment of the youth was not an expenditure but best investment, he said, the Punjab government had distributed laptops worth Rs 8.5 billion among the youth purely on merit during its last five-year term, and IT Labs had been established in 4,500 high schools of the province. These Punjab government's programmes, he added, were promoting awareness in the youth about changing world and latest trends, and these schemes were yielding positive results.
The chief minister said, Pakistan's future was linked with information technology, as development impossible with IT promotion, and for this purpose, first IT University of the country had been established at Arfa Karim Software Technology Park where more than 300 male and female students were studying. New campus of the university would soon be established where thousands of students would acquire latest education in various fields, he maintained.
The delegation of students appreciated the initiatives taken by Punjab government for empowering the youth and providing them with latest education and said that these programmes would help the students play their due role in national development.
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