A high-level delegation from the British High Commission met with Senior Minister of the Sindh Government and Provincial Minister for Information, Transport and Mass Transit, Sharjeel Inam Memon, at his residence. The meeting was also attended by a high-level delegation from the Sindh Government.
According to an official information today, various important issues, including the challenges facing Pakistan, the overall regional situation, particularly investment opportunities in Sindh, the promotion of technical and vocational skills among youth, women’s empowerment, environmental protection, and the promotion of bilateral cooperation, were discussed in detail.
The British High Commission delegation comprised Political Counsellor Nicole Roberts, Deputy High Commissioner Tom Bridge, Second Secretary (Political) Sam Place, Huda Ikram, and Sarah Pang, while the Sindh government delegation was led by Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon.
The meeting was also attended by Provincial Ministers Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Saeed Ghani, Mukesh Kumar Chawla, Special Assistants Qasim Naveed Qamar and Qasim Siraj Soomro, and Member of the Sindh Assembly Imdad Pitafi. During the meeting, the delegation briefed the British delegation on ongoing initiatives in the province related to public welfare, education, employment, women’s empowerment, environmental protection, and investment promotion under the vision of Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. The British delegation appreciated the Sindh Government’s initiatives in public welfare, women’s development, eco-friendly transport, investment, and development projects, describing them as positive steps towards progress.
On this occasion, Mr Memon said that the Sindh Government had taken a revolutionary step by introducing electric buses for the first time in Pakistan to promote environmental protection. He said that, to empower women, the Sindh government was providing free pink scooters to working women and students, which would facilitate women’s mobility and strengthen them economically and socially.
He said that a few years ago, the number of applicants for women’s driving licences was only around 450, which has now increased to 25,000. He said: “This change has helped challenge the traditional perception that women cannot drive cars or motorcycles.” The Sindh government is providing equal opportunities to women to progress in every field. He added that the Sindh government would soon introduce an electric taxi service, through which women drivers would provide travel facilities to women passengers. A conducive environment for investment is being created by providing charging stations and other basic facilities for electric vehicles to investors, says Memon.
The minister said that the Sindh government was encouraging the private sector to create new employment opportunities. Pakistan has a large youth population, which is why the ‘iWork for Sindh’ platform, launched on the instructions of Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, is proving to be an effective means of providing employment opportunities to young people. He said that special attention was being given to technical and vocational education so that the youth of Sindh can secure respectable employment opportunities through their skills anywhere in the world.
Memon informed the British delegation that the Sindh government was constructing 2.1 million houses for flood victims, making it the world’s largest housing project. He said that under this project, affected families were constructing their own houses, which was also enhancing their construction skills, while ownership of the houses was being transferred to women to empower them socially.
He said that the Sindh government was providing free seeds and fertilisers to farmers through the Hari Card, with the aim of increasing agricultural production and improving the economic condition of farmers. He added that Sindh offers numerous investment opportunities in various sectors, and British investors can benefit from these opportunities.
He urged the British delegation to encourage British investors to invest in Sindh. Sharjeel Inam Memon suggested that leading British universities should establish campuses in Sindh, which would enable thousands of Pakistani students to receive world-class education locally. He said that the Sindh Government is ready to organise a joint workshop to create new opportunities for cooperation and investment between Pakistani and British investors.
During the meeting, Provincial Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah apprised the British delegation of the Sindh government’s initiatives regarding local governments and said that the Sindh government believed in empowering local governments so that public issues could be resolved effectively at the grassroots level.
Special Assistant Qasim Naveed Qamar briefed the delegation on ongoing projects under Public-Private Partnership and highlighted the vast investment opportunities in various economic zones of Sindh, including the Dhabeji Special Economic Zone, as well as the government’s investor-friendly policies. During the meeting, the Sindh Government delegation also apprised the British delegation of the alleged human rights violations by Indian forces in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the difficulties faced by the Kashmiri people, and urged the international community to play an effective role in protecting human rights. The Sindh government delegation presented the British High Commission delegation with traditional Sindhi gifts, including a Sindhi topi.