Alvi for greater ties with Sri Lanka in trade, education

Islamabad: President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday called for promoting greater cooperation between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the fields of trade, economy and education.

He said the two brotherly countries enjoyed cordial relations that needed to be further expanded for their mutual benefit. He underscored the need for increased cooperation in the areas of higher education, academia, and research to promote mutual understanding between the people of both countries. The president expressed these views while talking to a delegation of senior civil servants of Sri Lanka here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

Currently, 20 senior civil servants of Sri Lanka are attending a two-week training programme related to international relations, peace and strategic studies, public policy, leadership and management, at the National Defence University, Islamabad. The president urged bureaucracy to be responsive to the people’s needs, improve the system’s efficiency, and their capacity and intellect for ensuring fast-paced development.

He said developing countries should focus on the development of education and health sectors, besides making fast decisions to help address the challenges being faced by them. The president said bureaucrats and politicians must adapt to emerging technologies and make timely decisions to build intellectual pathways for the development of the information technology (IT) sector.

He said the intellectual edge made nations great, and countries should focus on developing knowledge economies and investing in the intellectual development of their people. He stated that developing countries could achieve accelerated economic growth by focusing on the development of the IT sector and adopting conducive business policies.

Meanwhile, President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday underscored the need for increasing parliamentary cooperation among the member countries of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) to promote peace, democracy and sustainable development around the world. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the IPU’s mission to work for peace, democracy, human rights, youth empowerment and sustainable development through political dialogue and parliamentary action.

The president made these remarks while talking to the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Duarte Pacheco, here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. President Alvi said parliamentarians could play a significant role in promoting international peace and conflict resolution. He emphasised that the world collectively needed to take steps to stop wars and bring peace.

He urged that parliamentarians of the world should work for global peace and prosperity. The president briefed the visiting dignitary about the contribution made by Pakistan in the war against terror. He said Pakistan had lost thousands of civilians and security forces’ personnel, besides suffering economic losses of over $100 billion while fighting a long battle against terrorist elements.