July 07, 2015
News
PM pledges to improve education quality, gender equality
*Brown praises Nawaz for taking bold decisions to flush out terrorists from PakistanOSLO: Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif on Monday said the government was determined to improve the quality of education, enhance gender equality and provide increased learning opportunities for Pakistani students.
The PM, who arrived in the Norwegian capital on Monday, said this during his meeting with former British prime minister Gordon Brown, immediately after his arrival. He said Pakistan fully shared the vision of Oslo Summit which aimed at mobilising strong and renewed political commitment to reach out to the 58 million children who were still being denied their right to education, and to improving quality of education for those who attend school.
Nawaz recalled the international conference on education in Islamabad last year chaired by Gordon Brown and praised the interest taken by him in increasing literacy and improving the quality of education in Pakistan.
Nawaz said Pakistan’s fight against militancy and terrorism had yielded good results as most of the terrorists had been eliminated and their network and hideouts had been dismantled.
The country has suffered cumulative losses of over $110 billion in the war against terrorism in addition to losing thousands of lives, he added.
The PM said the government was also focusing on skill development, teaching skills to the educated youth and would welcome assistance from any international donor towards this end.
To ensure gainful employment of youth, the prime minister mentioned that the government had initiated a youth loan programme under which loans were given to young men and women, he added.
Brown praised the bold decisions taken by Nawaz in eliminating terrorism from the country and for improving relations with neighbouring countries, especially Afghanistan.
He said the summit would help the world know how Pakistan could be given more assistance to increase literacy and improve quality of education.
He extended condolences on the tragic incident of terrorist attack at Army Public School and praised the decisions taken by the government in its aftermath to make schools safe.
Brown informed the PM that he was planning a meeting of major bilateral donors of Pakistan in education on the sidelines of UNGA later this year.
Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and National
Security Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant to PM Tariq Fatemi, State Minister for Education Balighur Rehman and Pakistan’s Ambassador to Norway were present in the meeting.
Separately, talking to Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende, Nawaz said Pakistan and Norway had extended support to each other at various international forums and the former looked forward to continued cooperation in various spheres.
The PM said Pakistan attached great importance to its relations with Norway bilaterally as well as in the context of the Nordic region.
He extended condolences on the death of Norwegian Ambassador Leif H Larsen in tragic helicopter crash in Naltar. Brende praised the PM’s commitment to education and said there were about 35,000 Pakistanis living in Norway contributing towards the prosperity of the country. The PM said this diaspora established strong link between the two countries. Matters related to regional situation also came under discussion.
Later, the prime minister also attended a reception hosted by the foreign minister in honour of the visiting heads of delegations at Oslo City Hall, which the Norwegian Prime Minister also attended.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon was also present in the reception.
Earlier, Nawaz arrived in Oslo on a three-day official visit to participate in Oslo Summit on Education for Development. He was warmly welcomed at Oslo airport.
The PM will visit Russia on July 9 to attend meetings of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk