Islamabad: Today, Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland, along with a five-member delegation, visited Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister House. This marks Secretary-General Scotland’s first official trip to Pakistan. The discussions centered around cooperation in youth empowerment, good governance, and climate change initiatives.
According to Press Information Department, the Prime Minister praised the Commonwealth for its ongoing support of Pakistan’s socio-economic and democratic growth and expressed a strong commitment to collaborating on shared concerns, especially in harnessing the potential of Pakistan’s youthful population, which makes up two-thirds of the nation. He detailed the efforts under the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme aimed at modern education and technical training to integrate young people into the high-tech global economy. Secretary-General Scotland lauded these initiatives and noted the Prime Minister’s direct involvement as indicative of his dedication to youth empowerment.
The meeting also addressed governance improvements, with Scotland offering the Commonwealth’s Performance Management System to enhance transparency and efficiency in Pakistan’s government departments. She extended an invitation to Pakistan to participate in the Commonwealth Artificial Intelligence Consortium, which could provide Pakistani youth with advanced training opportunities in fields like cloud computing and generative AI.
Additionally, climate change was a significant topic, with Prime Minister Sharif highlighting it as a mutual priority following the devastating floods in 2022. He emphasized the need for international support at the upcoming COP29 in Baku to aid climate-vulnerable nations like Pakistan. Scotland acknowledged Pakistan’s post-flood recovery efforts and expressed hope for increased international assistance in building climate resilience.
The discussions also touched on the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa, where both leaders plan to further align their strategies on key issues.