Islamabad – Pakistan’s Minister Ahsan Iqbal Reviews Progress on Pak China Projects after the recent visit of Prime Minister, Shahbaz Sharif to China.
On Wednesday, Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, Professor Ahsan Iqbal, led an important meeting to review the status of jointly agreed projects between Pakistan and China following the Prime Minister’s recent visit to China.
The session included Secretary Planning Awais Manzur Sumra and senior officials from the Ministries of Food Security and Research, Information Technology and Telecommunic
During the Prime Minister’s visit, it was decided that Huawei would provide training to 200,000 students throughout Pakistan.
The minister instructed the Ministry of Information Technology to identify skills in demand, make faculty arrangements, and specify the duration of certificates to be offered.
He stressed the significance of engaging private IT sector stakeholders to gather their feedback, ensuring the relevance of skill development initiatives.
Ahsan Iqbal, meanwhile, directed the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to become involved, noting that university computer labs all over Pakistan might function as Huawei’s training academies and emphasizing the necessity of careful planning in order to operationalize the training of 200,000 students.
He also questioned about the Digital Pakistan Initiative and mandated the formulation of a comprehensive national digitalization strategy.
Regarding the training plan for 1,000 agricultural professionals in China, the minister directed that recent graduates receive specialized skills in specific targeted fields.
The training certificates should range from three to six months and one year, offering courses categorized into two tracks for skill enhancement: a six-month program and a one-year program. These initiatives aim to markedly boost expertise and productivity within Pakistan’s agricultural sector.
The Ministry of Food Security and Research highlighted that out of Pakistan’s 1.5 million tube wells, 80% currently run on diesel, consuming 3.15 billion liters valued at Rs. 908 billion annually. Transitioning these tube wells to solar energy offers a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution.
The National Highway Authority presented an overview of its projects, detailing the signed Framework Agreement for the Realignment of KKH Phase II (Thakot-Raikot) spanning 241 km, along with several signed MoUs and ongoing feasibility studies.
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