Italian Ambassador to Pakistan Stefano Pontecovero stated that the Italian government plans to invest 40 Million Euros for youth, health, infrastructure, education development policies and programmes in Pakistan in collaboration with Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF).

Stefano Pontecovero said that 65 percent of Pakistan's population is under 35, immense potential lies in the youth of Pakistan and Italy hopes to invest more in youth development policies to empower the future of the country and contribute towards a prosperous tomorrow. The Ambassador shared his thoughts at the closing ceremony of the first week long PPR training sessions conducted by Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund in collaboration with Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and Luiss Business School. These trainings were especially conducted for communities based in Balochistan, KPK and FATA with the aim to uplift their socio economic conditions.

The ceremony was attended by Italian Ambassador for Pakistan, Stefano Pontecovero, Ms Emanuela Benini, Director, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation in Pakistan, Qazi Azmat Isa, CEO PPAF & Simi Kamal, Head of Programmes PPAF.

Speaking on this occasion, Emanuela Benini, Director, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation in Pakistan said, "We are Delighted to see the impact of PPR training sessions for communities in Pakistan and hope that everyone had an insightful week of learning. We now look forward to the participants' contributions towards sustainable development for their respective areas." CEO PPAF, Qazi Azmat Isa also lauded the efforts of the Italian government in this regard and stressed that without their active participation such sessions could not have been possible. Positive interventions cannot be done in isolation, it is imperative for multiple stakeholders including academia, NGOs, governments to collaborate and work towards bringing a sustainable change Isa added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019