The first session of Overseas Pakistanis Forum (OPF), chaired by Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis, Dr Farooq Sattar concluded in Dubai on Monday night. It was organised by Javed Malik, Pakistan's Ambassador and, on the occasion the Overseas Pakistani community expressed its full support to their homeland in the need of hours.
Conference organisers told Business Recorder that delegates from all emirates of UAE and some Middle Eastern countries also took part. On the occasion rich tributes were paid to Pakistan UAE Friendship and a cake was cut to mark the UAE National day.
"The Forum provides a platform for the Overseas Pakistanis in the region to directly interact with the decision makers" and therefore "we invited the Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis to listen to their issues and then evolve a strategy through which we can address these issues", said Javed Malik, who is leading this efforts.
Presidents of all Pakistani Associations and Business Councils in the UAE represented in the Forum and took part in the question and answer session. The Forum started with a presentation of Ambassador Javed Malik in which he highlighted the issues being faced by Overseas Pakistanis globally.
He was critical of the fact that successive governments have wrongly stereo typed the role of Overseas Pakistanis only as workers who can simply send remittances. The times have moved on and Pakistanis living abroad have acquired positions of affluence and influence, they have gained skills, professional training and resources and many others features in the most influential and rich list of their host countries, he maintained.
In addition, he said that all of them are keen to play a role in supporting their country but there is no framework that allows them to do this. They often feel like they are second class citizens in their own countries. This culture needs to change, and the government must review its policy on overseas Pakistanis, he added.
Malik also made recommendations on how further opportunities of employment abroad can be utilised to the maximum if adequate training is provided to the overseas workers before leaving the country. Speaking about the issues of Overseas Pakistanis in Dubai he said that as the population of Pakistanis has increased in Dubai their needs have changed and increased.
The Pakistani schools are not up to the standard and need urgent attention of the Minister and the OPF in improving their standards. Similarly a Pakistani college and university is greatly needed. He also suggested to establish a Pakistan Skills and Information Center which would operate under the auspices of the OPF to provide facilities to Overseas Pakistanis resident here.
The Center would also have an Overseas Pakistanis Business Club, which would allow business networking and provide investment advice to those who want to invest in Pakistan through a structured system, he added.
He also urged the minister to set up a working group of bankers and finance professionals to work out a fast and transparent way of remittances that gives a sense of confidence to the expatriate workers, as this would at least double the remittance amounts. The issue of a special housing scheme for Pakistanis living in the UAE also came under discussion.
Speaking on the occasion the Dr Faroook Sattar said that he has taken into account the points raised and called on the community to look at the possibilities of public private partnership opportunities whereas the government would extend its support to the initiatives raised in the Forum.
He said that he has high hopes from this Forum as it will provide him with the advice and the consultation towards issues being faced by the communities on the ground. He called the overseas Pakistanis as a ray of hope for Pakistan and appreciated their role in supporting their country in these challenges. Prominent Pakistanis based in the UAE have been included in the Overseas Pakistanis Forum, which was largely attended by Businessmen, professionals, academics, and officials of OPF and Pakistani Embassies. The next session of the Forum will be in London in March 2010.