By Pervaiz Mughal
ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister’s Youth Program (PMYP) and OIC-COMSTECH on Monday agreed to strengthen cooperation on youth empowerment, digital skills and entrepreneurship, with plans to establish a joint committee to coordinate initiatives targeting young people in Pakistan and other OIC member states.
The understanding was reached during a meeting between PMYP Chairman Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan and OIC-COMSTECH Coordinator General Prof Dr M Iqbal Choudhary at the COMSTECH Secretariat in Islamabad. Senior officials from both sides also attended the meeting.
The two sides agreed to work together, in line with the vision of the prime minister for youth empowerment, to expand opportunities for young people and highlight Pakistan’s contribution to science, technology, education and human resource development across the Muslim world. The prime minister also serves as co-chairman of OIC-COMSTECH, while the president of Pakistan is its chairman.
The meeting discussed the joint organization of the Kazan Youth Forum, the launch of a Digital Youth Program with a particular focus on training 500 young women in digital skills, and the possible expansion of the Prime Minister’s Digital Youth Hub to OIC member states.
Mechanisms were also discussed to connect the Prime Minister’s Youth Program with youth organizations in OIC countries, providing greater opportunities for networking, knowledge exchange, entrepreneurship, skills development and collaboration among young people across the Muslim world.
Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan appreciated COMSTECH’s initiatives in science, technology, innovation and capacity building and described closer cooperation between the two organizations as an opportunity to project Pakistan’s positive image through knowledge, technology and youth development.
