A top-level delegation, led by Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of the World Bank Group Sri Mulyani Indrawati, met the Punjab chief minister on Monday to talk about matters of mutual interest and promotion of co-operation in education, health, energy, skilled manpower development and disaster management. The Vice President of the World Bank for South Asian Region, Annette Dixon, was also present in the meeting.
Managing Director Indrawati paying tributes to the chief minister's leadership claimed, "He is a visionary leader who has taken splendid measures for the welfare and betterment of the people of the province. Shehbaz Sharif is serving the people of the Punjab with determination and hard work and the steps taken in the province for promotion of good governance and the public welfare are yielding positive results."
She said the World Bank would promote co-operation with Pakistan, especially the Punjab, and seriously consider co-operation for skill development for the empowerment of two million youth till 2017-18. In his speech to delegation, the chief minister claimed that various programmes were running successfully in the Punjab with the co-operation of the World Bank in education, health, skill development and uplift of other social sectors and that his government wanted to further expand co-operation with the bank.
He said that the youth made up 60 percent of the population and so the Punjab government "is paying special attention to the empowerment of the youth through vocational and technical training". "Targets have been fixed to prepare quality skilled manpower of the two million youth in the Punjab till 2017-18 by imparting technical and vocational training and the bank's co-operation will be welcomed in this regard as there is a great demand for skilled manpower not only in Pakistan but also abroad."
He went on, "The Punjab government has evolved a strategy to develop skilled manpower in accordance with the market needs." In reference to a string of reforms in the education sector, he said, "The target of 100-percent enrolment of children in schools till 2018 has been fixed in the Punjab and measures are also being taken to promote quality education. The reforms are being introduced in higher education while due attention is being paid to the capacity-building of tax collection institutions in the province for generating maximum resources for utilisation on the masses. The digital technology is also being used for this purpose."
About mineral resources of Rajwa-Chiniot, he said, "Iron ore and copper reserves have been discovered in this area and business model will be prepared till the end of the current year. The World Bank can provide assistance with regard to the survey for correct assessment of mineral reserves in the Punjab. The Punjab government is setting up energy projects with its own resources and a 100-megawatt energy project in the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park Bahawalpur has been completed in a record period and electricity production has been started. The 900-megawatt solar projects with the co-operation of China will be completed in 2016. Similarly, work is being carried out speedily on 3600 megawatt gas-based energy projects costing four billion dollars and these projects will start production till 2017."
He also said a coal power project of 1,320 megawatts was being established in Sahiwal with Chinese investment and it will also be completed till 2017 and that the bank could provide assistance with regard to construction of small dams in the province.
"The work has been started under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the Dasu and the Diamer Bhasha Dams and funds of billions of rupees have been allocated," he added. He then thanked the delegation for the financial assistance, saying the work had been carried out round the clock during the past two years in energy sector and efforts made by the premier's government o during this short period are unprecedented in the history of the country.
He then talked about the important ongoing development projects in the Punjab and the future targets. Managing Director Indrawati assured him that the bank would seriously consider the co-operation. Those also present were Country Director Rashid Bin Masood, Executive Director Nasir Mehmood Khosa and other senior officials. Provincial Ministers Raja Ashfaq Sarwar, Zakiya Shahnawaz, Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, Advisors Kh. Salman Rafiq, Doctor Ijaz Nabi, Chief Secretary Khizar Hayat Gondal, the Planning and Development chairman and energy the additional chief secretary.