Ag APP
SIALKOT: President Dr Arif Alvi said on Wednesday that the government had taken a number of initiatives for empowering the youth, which comprises more than 60 percent of the country’s population.
While addressing the cheque-distribution ceremony of the Kamyab Jawan Programme (KJP) in Sialkot Cantt, the president further said under the KJP, youngsters were being provided small loans on easy terms to help them start their own business and become financially independent.
He also said such youngsters would not only secure their future through economic activities but they would also collectively help in the growth of the national economy. He was of the view that the KJP would help the youngsters by providing them immediate financial assistance and would save them from 10 to 15 years long wait in to generate finance on their own. He said strict merit and transparency had been followed in disbursing loans under the programme. He added that only those societies survived in the world honorably which had strictly followed merit and transparency.
He stressed upon the youngsters to work hard and achieve success by using fair means and have strict belief in the help from Allah Almighty. He urged the youngsters to not only acquire modern knowledge but also try to learn different skills. He opined that progress and prosperity of Pakistan depended on its educated and skilled younger generation. PM’s Special Assistant on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, special assistant on youth affairs Usman Dar, Punjab Minister for Special Education Ch Muhammad Ikhlaq and others also spoke on the occasion. Later, the president distributed cheques to the applicants.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said making the country’s youth self-sufficient was the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan to help them become useful part of a developed Pakistan. She said providing opportunities to skilled and professional youth would ensure a corruption-free and strong Pakistan.
She said the premier was personally monitoring youth-related projects, and was in fact leading the nation’s caravan towards goals of prosperity. She mentioned that the artificial intelligence project, under the patronage of President Arif Alvi, was an integral part of Digital Pakistan, launched by the prime minister.
She said under Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (Tevta), around 2,000 professionally skilled youth would be given training besides mainstreaming 75,000 students from 70 madrassas, establishment of 75 classrooms and five Centres of Excellence. She regretted that previous governments exploited the sentiments of innocent people and did not take steps for their welfare.
Meanwhile, the president urged the Sialkot exporters to focus on developing and promoting their own brands in sports goods and surgical instruments which would eventually open up a new era of exports promotion.
Addressing the exporters at the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), he said Sialkot exporters have great potential to explore and capture the untapped international markets, adding the government had already focused on “ease of doing business” in the country. He vowed to continue the process of economic stability.
He said the government would continue its economic development agenda by taking the business community on board. He highlighted the government’s economic development agenda.
Sialkot exporters were backbone of the national economy, as they had been playing a pivotal role in strengthening the national economy by earning foreign exchange to the tune of US$ 2 billion annually, he added.
The president said the government was fully aware of the problems of business community and making all-out efforts to resolve them amicably. The continuity of business-friendly policies was vital for national economic stability, development and prosperity, he further added.
