Daily Dawn Staff Reporter + Dawn TV
Chairman of Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, Rana Mashood Ahmad Khan held a meeting with the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London. The High Commissioner of Pakistan to the UK, Dr. Mohammad Faisal, and officials of the Pakistan High Commission were also present during the meeting.
Rana Mashood stated that, as a founding member of the Commonwealth, Pakistan attaches huge importance to the Commonwealth and regards it as a key platform to test ideas and forge consensus. Pakistan is committed to the Commonwealth Sustainable Development Agenda. He added that there is a wide scope for Pakistan to engage with the Commonwealth towards the realization of its sustainable Development Agenda, particularly in education, skills development for youth, women empowerment, health, and climate change mitigation.
Rana Mashood briefed the Secretary General of the Commonwealth about Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s initiative of establishing a multi-sector partnership program “Generation Unlimited” and a National Youth Council. He stated that the Youth Council will act as an advisory body, comprised of talented youth, to provide policy advice to the government about youth empowerment.
Secretary General of the Commonwealth stated that she looked forward to her visit to Pakistan later this month and expressed the hope to have very productive meetings. She said that Pakistan ranks 3rd on the global youth employability index and it is a great strength for Pakistan that needs to be harnessed.
The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC emphasized the need to establish joint mechanisms between Commonwealth countries for disaster management and relief efforts. She said that Pakistan has negligible contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, yet it is prone to climate-induced disasters.
The Secretary General of the Commonwealth stressed collaborative efforts for youth education in technology particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI). She invited Pakistan to join the Commonwealth’s AI Consortium which would help in training Pakistani youth in AI.
