2nd Pakistan Professionals & Students Forum 2025: Pakistan Embassy in Beijing launches landmark mentorship programme

BEIJING: The Embassy of Pakistan in Beijing today successfully organized the 2nd Pakistan Professionals & Students Forum 2025 under the theme “Mentorship: Learning from the Learned.” The Forum brought together industry professionals, students, academics and, entrepreneurs from across China to strengthen community bonds and foster meaningful dialogue on new employment opportunities emerging from the high quality development of the CPEC 2.0.

The Pakistan Embassy also launched an innovative mentorship program, connecting professionals with Pakistani students in Beijing.

Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Prof Ahsan Iqbal, in a video message, commended the Embassy’s initiative and emphasized the vital role of Pakistani overseas community in Pakistan’s journey of sustainable development. He highlighted education as a transformative force and urged the community to share experiences, build partnerships, and extend mentorship for individual empowerment and national development He also called upon the Pakistani professionals and students to work together in harnessing the benefits of CPEC 2.0.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Syed Tariq Fatemi, commended the Forum as a visionary initiative that embodied industry-academia and intergenerational partnership. He underlined the government’s youth empowerment initiatives, including the establishment of Digital Youth Hub, Innovation Fund, and National Incubation Centres to promote digital skills, innovation and entrepreneurship. He noted the Prime Minister’s landmark scholarship program, offering Pakistani agriculture professionals hands-on training in China’s top universities. He added that 300 Pakistani agricultural professionals would soon arrive in Shaanxi Province under this fully funded scholarship program.

Ambassador Khalil Hashmi in his welcome address described the Forum event as an opportunity to connect, collaborate and promise to deliver. He noted that the Forum was no longer just an event—rather a reflection of the Pakistani community’s profound identity in China, anchored in hardwork, commitment, and shared vision of win-win cooperation. Drawing inspiration from China’s longstanding tradition of intergenerational mentorship, he underscored the importance of building a culture where experience informs aspiration and success is measured by how it empowers others.

The Ambassador highlighted key developments since the last Forum, including the launch of the Yangling Agriculture Initiative by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the expansion of bilateral cooperation in space science and vocational training, the newly designed Embassy’s website with features aimed at enhancing community engagement and feedback and new openings under the CPEC Phase II. He called on professionals to move beyond individual achievement and channel their expertise into collective growth, helping shape a confident and globally competitive next generation of Pakistani students and professionals.

Two panel discussions were held on the occasion highlighting employment prospects under CPEC 2.0 and practical dimensions of mentoring the younger generation. Panellists included experts from UNESCO, Renmin University, ZBRA, the China United National Procurement Promotion Association, and leading Pakistani academics and professionals.

The audience appreciated the Embassy for its efforts in bringing the professionals and students together and expressed the resolve to implement the goals and objectives of the Forum.