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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government has disbursed Rs251.25 billion [$890 million] in loans among 434,000 young entrepreneurs since 2013, state-run media reported on Sunday, saying the initiative aimed to boost the country’s economic prospects. 

The Prime Minister’s Youth Programme’s (PMYP) scheme collaborated with 15 different banks across the country. As per this scheme, the government provides interest-free microfinance loans and low-interest loans to aspiring entrepreneurs. 

“In a major step to empower youth, the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme (PMYP) has disbursed a staggering Rs 251.25 billion to over 434,000 young entrepreneurs since 2013, catapulting a new generation of Pakistanis into the forefront of the country’s economic landscape,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.

The report said that the scheme has provided young Pakistanis a chance to become “successful entrepreneurs” and contribute to the country’s economic growth.

In March this year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched the “Digital Youth Hub” portal in Islamabad. The initiative connects young people to jobs, education and enhances skills development in the country.

Estimates suggest approximately 64 percent of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 30, offering a significant opportunity to drive economic growth through a young workforce contributing to entrepreneurship, innovation and diversification.

The South Asian country has attempted to revive its economy by reinvigorating its small-and-medium enterprises sector in recent months. A thriving SME sector reduces unemployment, increases the GDP growth of a country, boosts exports and reduces dependency on large multinationals or established corporations.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday called for the ongoing Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit to promote multilateralism in the form of economic, financial, commercial and technological ties among member states. 

These thoughts were expressed by the Pakistani president in a column for the English-language Chinese newspaper, ‘China Daily,’ on Sunday. The column was published as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif joins several world leaders, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the Chinese city of Tianjin for the SCO’s Aug. 31 to Sept. 1 regional summit. 

The SCO comprises China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus, with 16 more countries affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners.” China has long sought to present the SCO as a counterweight to Western-led power blocs and has pushed for greater collaboration between its member states. 

“One of the pressing tasks for the Summit is to promote and practice true multilateralism covering not just peace and security but economic, financial, commercial and technological ties among nations,” Zardari wrote.

“It is our obligation to strengthen global institutions.”

The Pakistani president noted that the SCO’s performance over the past decade in countering “terrorism,” curbing transnational crimes, especially drug trafficking, has been “impressive.”

He said the SCO summit gives regional leaders a platform to chart a roadmap for the next decade of “holistic development” for SCO members. Zardari said improving economic, technological and commercial cooperation among member states would help them contain and control volatility in international markets, ensure stability. 

“In 2024, China’s trade with SCO nations rose to a whopping half a trillion dollars, which is proof of the organization’s growing heft,” he wrote. 

China is a major ally and investor in Pakistan. Over the course of a decade, Beijing has funneled tens of billions of dollars into massive transport, energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. 

Zardari said Pakistan is proud of China’s rise and leadership at the global and regional stage. He added that Beijing and Islamabad supported each other on core issues and common principles of respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence. 

“My visit to China in February this year reinforced my conviction that although together we have made huge strides,” he wrote. 

“We are destined to play an even bigger role to strengthen our bilateral ties in diverse fields – defense, cybersecurity, new technologies, energy – and make our regions both conduits and destinations for commerce and shared prosperity.”

Sharif, who arrived in China on Saturday, will remain in the country till Sept. 4 and hold talks with senior Chinese leadership, including President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang, Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement.

During the visit, the Pakistani prime minister will also chair the second Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference in Beijing on Sept. 4 to boost trade and investment ties, the PM Office said in an earlier statement on Saturday.