Muhammad Usman Dar, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Youth Affairs met Ms. Androulla Kaminara, Ambassador of European Union at her office, this evening.
The meeting focused on exploring possibilities for better utilization of EU funded projects undertaken for welfare of youth in Pakistan. The meeting specifically considered increasing Pakistani students' access and participation in scholarships offered by EU under Erasmus Programme.
The Ambassador informed SAPM that the number of Pakistani beneficiaries for EU scholarships has a great potential to grow. She explained various EU funded projects in various fields including education, vocational training, Human Rights, etc.
Mr. Dar said that the government's priorities include financial inclusion and true empowerment of youth in the country. He briefed the Ambassador on key initiatives under the PM's Kamyab Jawan Programme. He expressed his keen interest to work closely with EU and other international donors for effective coordination. ‘’We will facilitate all international agencies to better execute their developmental projects, especially those targeting empowerment of our youth’’, said Mr. Dar.
The ambassador said that better coordination will help EU to align its support with the government's long-term plans. She added that it will be relevant to design EU funded projects in a way to compliment government’s efforts in various areas.
Mr. Dar said that the government is working towards establishment of National Youth Development Foundation to ensure institutional arrangements for empowering the youth. He said that web portal of PM's Kamyab Jawan Programme will serve the purpose of timely communication with youth. Mr. Dar stressed for substantially increasing participation in EU funded scholarships through effective liaison. He assured the Ambassador for working-out modalities to establish formal linkages between his office and EU for maximizing productivity of youth related initiatives.
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