LAHORE – British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on Wednesday called on Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif here and discussed matters of mutual interest, promotion of trade and economic cooperation, health, skill development and security affairs.
On the occasion, the British foreign secretary said that extraordinary work was being carried out in education, health and other sectors under the leadership of CM Shahbaz. He said that he was happy to see the proper utilisation of British taxpayers’ money in Punjab.
Hammond said that Punjab was marching forward to right direction in development field and he was going back with a good message from Pakistan. On the occasion, the chief minister said that Pakistan-Britain relations had improved considerably during recent years. He said that new era of relations between both the countries had started during the tenure of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
He said that a lot of work was being carried out for the uplift of education, health and skill development sectors in Punjab with the collaboration of Department of International Development (DFID) UK and reforms had been introduced in education, health and skill development sectors.
He said that the Punjab government was making investment for providing technical training to the youth and empowering them so that they could not only stand on their own feet but also play due role in strengthening economy.
CM Shahbaz said that historic steps had been taken for empowering women and protecting their rights. He said that such reforms had been introduced for the development and prosperity of women during last few years through which they are demonstrating their capabilities in practical fields.
Referring to the measures taken for coping with terrorism and extremism, the chief minister said that besides solid steps, necessary legislation had been made for eliminating trends of extremism from the society. He said that terrorism was a common problem of international community and this challenge could be overcome through collective efforts.
He said that Pakistani nation, political and military leadership were on one page for eliminating terrorism and marching forward on the mission of constituting a society based on tolerance and forbearance according to the vision of the Quaid-e-Azam. He thanked the British government on invaluable cooperation in education, health and skill development sectors in Punjab.
PM’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatmi, provincial ministers Rana Sanaullah, Ayesha Ghous Pasha, Khalil Tahir Sindhu, Planning & Development chairman, home secretary, other senior officials and British High Commissioner Thomas Drew were also present on the occasion.
