CAIRO- UNS: Speaking at the 11th Summit of the Developing Eight (D-8) countries in Cairo, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday stressed that investing in youth was “crucial” for Pakistan’s socioeconomic development and progress.
Founded in 1997 in Istanbul, the D-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation, also known as Developing-8, is an organisation for development cooperation among Egypt, Nigeria, Turkiye, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Iran, and Malaysia.
Its objective is to increase economic cooperation among member states to boost economic growth, sustain development and promote and improve standards of living by focusing on bringing improvement and enhancing cooperation in agriculture, trade, transportation, industry, energy, and tourism.
The theme of this year’s summit, held from December 18 to 19, is “Investing in Youth and Supporting SMEs: Shaping Tomorrow’s Economy”.
Addressing the summit, PM Shehbaz said: “For Pakistan, investing in youth and supporting SMEs (small and medium enterprises) is crucial for our socioeconomic development and progress.
“With over 60 per cent of our population under the age of 30, we possess a fountain of potential for innovation and growth,” he added. However, the premier noted, “unlocking this potential requires providing the right skills, opportunities, and financial resources”.
Noting that the theme of today’s summit pertained to investing in youth, PM Shehbaz emphasised it “served as a blueprint for collective prosperity in the 21st century”. He termed the youth and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) the “key drivers of economic development in any society”.
“Youth brings energy, fresh ideas, and creativity, whereas SMEs create jobs, foster innovation, and promote entrepreneurship. By investing in both, we can build inclusive and robust economies that are ready for the global challenges of today and tomorrow.”
During his address, the premier highlighted that the government PM’s Youth Programme had distributed “over 600,000 laptops to high achievers”.
Referring to the PM’s Youth Business and Agricultural Loan Scheme, PM Shehbaz said the government had disbursed “billions in loans enabling young Pakistanis to start and scale their own businesses”.
“Today’s summit offers the D-8 countries a valuable opportunity to share best practices, pool resources and create programmes that support youth and small [and] medium enterprises across borders,” he said.
The prime minister also mentioned the government’s efforts to empower the IT sector, noting that Pakistan was home to “one of the largest freelance communities in the world”.
“We are focusing on IT trainings at a mass scale to equip our youth with the necessary tools to connect with the digital world and capitalise on the opportunities, with the aim to enable job-seekers to become job-creators,” he said.
“Connectivity is a force multiplier and is rightly hailed as a vehicle for peace and prosperity as emphasised in the Dhaka declaration earlier in 2021,” the premier highlighted.
“We need to explore the possibilities of developing and enhancing transport connectivity among D-8 member states for building efficient intra-trade corridors and reliable supply chains,” he said, highlighting that the “Pakistan-Iran-Turkiye Corridor” was an excellent project.
At the outset of his speech, PM Shehbaz thanked Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for a “very warm and generous welcome” given to him and his delegation.
Earlier today, the prime minister arrived at the Royal Palace of Egypt in Cairo to attend the summit, where he was received by President El-Sisi and recorded his impressions in the visitors’ book, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
