——— Asserts govt dedicated to empowering youth with modern skills
——— Stresses the youth play a crucial role in driving technological progress
——— Adds IT skills are essential for country’s development
By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to equipping Pakistan’s youth with modern digital skills, saying all possible support is being provided to boost their technologi-cal expertise.
He made these remarks while chairing a review meeting in Lahore on Sunday regarding an initiative to train 300,000 young people in information and communication technology (ICT) in collaboration with Huawei Technologies. Representatives from Huawei also attended the session.
The meeting assessed the progress of agreements signed with Huawei in China last year and discussed strategies to expand digital skills training across the country.
Shehbaz Sharif stressed that the youth play a crucial role in driving technological progress, adding that the ICT training programme would not only enhance IT exports but also create employment opportu-nities.
Under the initiative, Huawei will train Pakistani youth in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud com-puting, and other advanced technologies. So far, 20,315 students have completed training under the programme. Officials informed the Prime Minister that an ICT training portal will be launched to provide online learning access to participants. Sharif instructed authorities to ensure swift implementation of the ini-tiative and make the portal widely accessible.
He also directed that the programme be expanded to all provinces, including Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, to maximise its reach. Huawei representatives reaffirmed their commitment to launching advanced training programmes in Pakistan and skilling local master trainers to train youth at the grassroots level.
