A high-level engagement between the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme (PMYP) and the United Nations Youth Task Force was convened at the Prime Minister’s Office, Islamabad, under the chairmanship of Chairman Prime Minister’s Youth Programme Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, focusing on strengthening collaboration to advance youth development and expand opportunities for young people in Pakistan, with particular emphasis on leveraging the Prime Minister’s Digital Youth Hub as a unified platform to connect youth with employment, skills development, and entrepreneurial opportunities.
The meeting brought together Mohamed Yahya, United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan, along with members of the United Nations Youth Task Force and representatives of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme. It was noted that approximately 90 percent of the UN Youth Task Force members in Pakistan are Pakistani nationals, reflecting strong local representation and national ownership.
In his opening remarks, the Chairman welcomed distinguished colleagues from across the United Nations system and underscored the shared commitment between the Government of Pakistan and the United Nations to invest in young people as a central development priority. He highlighted that Pakistan is home to approximately 100 million young people between the ages of 10 and 29, representing one of the largest and most dynamic youth populations in the region.
He acknowledged the contributions of key UN partners, including UNICEF and its Generation Unlimited initiative for their technical and financial support in establishing the Digital Youth Hub, as well as United Nations Population Fund, United Nations Development Programme, International Labour Organization, and UNESCO for their sustained engagement in youth employment, skills development, education, and social sectors.
The Chairman highlighted that over the past two years, PMYP has disbursed more than PKR 305 billion in youth enterprise financing and trained hundreds of thousands of young Pakistanis. He emphasized that while progress has been made, the scale of the challenge requires integrated and accelerated action to ensure that young people have access to jobs, training, and meaningful opportunities.
A central focus of the meeting was the Prime Minister’s Digital Youth Hub (DYH), accessible through pmyp.gov.pk, which serves as Pakistan’s national digital platform for youth. The platform is designed as a comprehensive data-driven ecosystem built on three core components: a youth supply registry that creates verified digital profiles capturing education, skills, and aspirations; an opportunity demand registry where governments, UN agencies, NGOs, and private sector partners can list jobs, training programmes, internships, scholarships, and other opportunities; and a supply-demand analytics engine that generates real-time insights on skills gaps, regional disparities, and programme effectiveness.
The Chairman further emphasized that the Digital Youth Hub will be institutionalized under the FAYDA Act 2026 as Pakistan’s statutory youth data architecture, with all federal ministries mandated to onboard and list their youth-related programmes on the platform.
During the session, Mohamed Yahya formally onboarded the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees onto the Digital Youth Hub, marking a key milestone in aligning UN system efforts with Pakistan’s national youth development framework.
Participants were informed that the Digital Youth Hub is fully operational, with young people across Pakistan already registering on the platform. Emphasis was placed on the need to strengthen the demand side by increasing the number of opportunities available through active participation from UN agencies, development partners, and the private sector.
The Chairman called upon all UN agencies to register on the platform, onboard their youth-focused programmes including internships, fellowships, training, scholarships, and volunteering opportunities, and to promote the platform within their respective networks. He further emphasized the critical role of the private sector, noting that large-scale impact can be achieved if employers across Pakistan actively utilize the platform to connect with young talent.
The Government of Pakistan underscored its commitment to supporting private sector engagement through coordinated facilitation by PMYP and relevant ministries under the framework of the FAYDA Act 2026.
The meeting also highlighted the relevance of the Digital Youth Hub in the context of emerging global discussions on artificial intelligence and sustainable development, positioning the platform as Pakistan’s practical response through a data-driven, AI-enabled system designed for collaborative ownership.
Participants reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthening collaboration between the Government of Pakistan and the United Nations system, working together to onboard programmes, enhance coordination, mobilize private sector participation, and expand access to opportunities for young people, particularly those from underserved and marginalized communities.
The Chairman invited Mohamed Yahya to lead the United Nations system’s collective engagement with the Digital Youth Hub and proposed clear targets, including the registration of all UN agencies with youth-facing programmes within sixty days and the onboarding of at least twenty private sector organizations within six months through UN facilitation.
The meeting concluded with a strong commitment from both the Government of Pakistan and the United Nations system to work together in unlocking the full potential of Pakistan’s youth through the Digital Youth Hub as a shared national platform.
