Pakistan’s Prime Minister’s Youth Programme (PMYP) and UN Women Pakistan have agreed to explore closer collaboration on initiatives aimed at advancing youth development, women’s empowerment and leadership, following high-level talks at the Prime Minister’s Office.
Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan met Jamshed Kazi, Country Representative of UN Women Pakistan, to discuss potential areas of cooperation. The meeting was also attended by UN Women Deputy Country Representative Fahmida Iqbal Khan, Programme Manager Saman Ahsan, Programme Officer Zeeshan Hussain, and senior officials from the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme.
During the meeting, Rana Mashhood welcomed the UN Women delegation and commended the organisation’s continued efforts to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. He presented an overview of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme and its flagship 4Es Initiative, highlighting the government’s commitment to creating opportunities for young people in education, employment, engagement and environment.
He said women’s empowerment remained a central priority of the programme and outlined several flagship initiatives designed to increase women’s participation in economic and social development. These included the Prime Minister’s Business and Agriculture Loan Scheme, which reserves a 25% quota for women across all categories, and the National Youth Employment Plan, which aims to raise women’s participation in the labour force to 35% by 2030. He also briefed the delegation on the National Youth Adolescence Policy and other programmes supporting young women.
The chairman said the PMYP planned to establish a Business Loan Scheme Facilitation Centre that would bring together all 25 participating banks and microfinance institutions under one platform to simplify access to financing and entrepreneurial support, particularly for women. He also highlighted the Digital Youth Hub, describing it as Pakistan’s first comprehensive digital youth platform providing access to opportunities under all four pillars of the 4Es Initiative.
Discussing employment-focused programmes, Rana Mashhood highlighted the Youth Skills Development Programme, the National Innovation Award for young entrepreneurs, and the Digital Youth Hub, which he said had already registered more than 800,000 users and over 3,000 companies. He stressed the importance of strengthening collaboration with national and international partners working in youth and women’s development to maximise impact.
Jamshed Kazi welcomed the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme’s broad vision and expressed UN Women’s interest in partnering on initiatives aimed at empowering women and girls. He said many women possessed significant potential but continued to face barriers in accessing skills development, mentorship, market exposure, financial resources and opportunities to expand their businesses and careers.
He said UN Women Pakistan looked forward to working with the PMYP to address those challenges through structured support, capacity building, knowledge sharing and wider outreach.
Kazi also briefed the meeting on UN Women Pakistan’s planned Women Leaders Mentorship Programme, designed to encourage women’s participation in politics and leadership. He said the organisation was interested in launching the initiative in collaboration with the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme. Both sides agreed to explore practical avenues of cooperation and reaffirmed their commitment to creating greater opportunities for women and young people across Pakistan.