Pakistan and the Opec Fund for International Development (OFID) have signed an agreement for the establishment of Government Institute of Emerging Technologies in Lahore.
According to a statement issued by OFID, the agreement was signed in Vienna on behalf of the Government of Pakistan (GoP) by H.E Shahbaz, Ambassador of Pakistan to Austria and by Jamal Nasser Lootah, chairman of the Governing Board of the OFID and on behalf of the Opec fund.
The project, being undertaken with OFID's financial assistance of $5.05 million, aims at establishing a state-of-the-art institute for providing demand driven vocational training programmes for both male and female students. It will impart training to about 1,600 students per year. Thus through skill development and capacity building the Institute will contribute to the goal of poverty alleviation in the country.
Speaking on the occasion, the chairman OFID Governing board, Jamal Nasser Lootah, appreciated the economic progress achieved by Pakistan and hoped that establishment of this Institute would help further strengthen the country's economic growth through human resource development.
He remarked that the fund would continue its cooperation with Pakistan. In his remarks, Ambassador Shahbaz thanked the chairman for OFID's cooperation and support in undertaking a number of projects in Pakistan.
Regarding the Emerging Technologies Institute, he underlined its importance for Pakistan at a time when both the domestic and international markets demanded highly skilled labour. He expressed the hope that the co-operative relationship between Pakistan and the Fund would further grow in coming days.
The OFID has been extending financial assistance to Pakistan since its establishment in 1976 and 15 public sector projects have already been completed in the country with OFID's co-financing.
So far, the Fund has approved over $250 million as co-financing towards a wide range of projects in Pakistan. Several projects, both in public and private sectors are underway in Pakistan with OFID's assistance while some others are under negotiation between the two sides.