JALIL HASSAN AKHTAR
LAHORE (March 05 2010): High Commissioner of
New Zealand in Pakistan, Brian Sanders,
called on Punjab Chief Minister,
Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif at Chief Minister's
Secretariat, here Thursday. Co-operation in
various sectors and matters of mutual
interest were discussed in the meeting. Vice
Chairman Punjab Investment Board and
Secretaries of LIVESTOCK, Agriculture and
Commerce were also present on the occasion.
Talking to the High Commissioner of New
Zealand, the Chief Minster said that there
were vast opportunities of bilateral co-
operation in agriculture, LIVESTOCK and
other sectors and New Zealand and Punjab
besides launching joint ventures could also
encourage private sector for the uplift of
these sectors.
He said that Punjab was an agrarian province
and a vast majority of its population was
associated with agriculture and
LIVESTOCK sectors. He said that Pakistan was
the fourth biggest producer of milk in the
world and huge foreign exchange could
be earned through export of DAIRY products
by utilising modern technology and
expertise.
Similarly, he said, Halal meat could be
exported to Middle East, Iran, Turkey and
other countries through co-operation in
meat processing sector. He said that
development of LIVESTOCK sector could help
overcome poverty and unemployment,
therefore,
government was concentrating on the uplift
of this sector.
He said that foundation stone of a
state-of-the-art VETERINARY university had
been laid in Bahawalpur and the project
would
be completed expeditiously. He said that
co-operation of University of Glasgow had
been sought for this purpose. He said that
Punjab and New Zealand could cooperate in
the development of these sectors.
Referring to the measures taken for speedy
development of the province and uplift of
education and health sectors, the Chief
Minister said the education was an effective
weapon against extremism, hence
revolutionary measures were being taken by
the
government for the elimination of illiteracy
and ignorance.
He said besides promotion of vocational
education, the project of setting up of
Danish schools had also been initiated from
southern Punjab, which would bring about a
revolution in education sector, as academic
facilities even better than those
available at prestigious educational
institutions of big cities would be provided
to the students of far-flung and backward
areas in these schools.
He said that the project of setting up IT
labs in more than four thousand schools of
the province had been completed in a
transparent manner to enable students gain
latest information about global affairs. He
said that Punjab and New Zealand
should evolve an effective programme for
co-operation in various sectors and a
delegation from Punjab would be sent to New
Zealand to explore prospects in this regard.
He said that possibility of sending students
from Punjab to New Zealand for education in
VETERINARY and agriculture sciences
would also be considered and Punjab
government would bear expenses of these
students that would be selected on merit.
High
Commissioner of New Zealand, Brian Sanders
said that New Zealand was a major exporter
of DAIRY products in the world and
would also cooperate for the uplift of
LIVESTOCK and agriculture sectors in Punjab.
Secretary Agriculture and LIVESTOCK
pointed out various sectors for mutual
co-operation between Punjab and New Zealand.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2010
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