ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani will chair the 10th Commonwealth Youth Ministerial Meeting (CYMM) today (Tuesday) in London.

The 10th CYMM is being held from September 12 to 15, 2023, in London to be attended by delegates from the Commonwealth member countries.

According to Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the Commonwealth Secretariat is convening the Commonwealth Youth Ministerial Meeting as Pakistan assumes the chair of the meeting and plays an active part in setting the agenda ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit to be held next year in Samoa.

The theme of the meeting is “Aim Higher: Delivering More for Young People in the Commonwealth”.

It aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

While in London, the foreign minister is also expected to meet with participating ministers and high-ranking officials of the Commonwealth.

“Pakistan attaches great importance to the Commonwealth and its flagship Commonwealth Youth Programme, which is marking its fiftieth anniversary. Pakistan is committed to economic empowerment and meaningful engagement of youth, particularly as the Commonwealth and the Government of Pakistan commemorate 2023 as the “Year of Youth”, she said.

Four core areas of education, employment, engagement and environment identified in the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme (PMYP), will be extensively discussed in the upcoming meeting, he added.

A senior officer of the Foreign Office said on condition of anonymity that the caretaker foreign minister will also hold meetings with British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland, mayor of London Sadiq Khan and a number of other ministers from the Commonwealth member states on the sidelines of the meeting.

However, he said that no meeting with the India side has been scheduled on the sidelines of the 10th Commonwealth Youth Ministerial Meeting in London.

The official further said that the 10th Commonwealth Youth Ministerial Meeting was originally scheduled to be held in Islamabad last year. However, it got postponed due to the devastating floods in the country.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023