Directorate General Public Relations,
Government of the Punjab, Lahore.
Government of the Punjab, Lahore.
Ph: 99201390
No: 892/Majid/mta
HANDOUT (A)
LAHORE, May 30:
Punjab
Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said that good neighborly relations
will have to be promoted for a durable peace in South Asia. He said that there
is a need to create an atmosphere of tolerance and peaceful coexistence for
rooting out poverty and ignorance from this region so that the peoples of India
and Pakistan could achieve those objectives of progress and prosperity which
were envisioned by the founders of the two countries in 1947.
He
was talking to Indian delegation led by Indian expatriate American businessman
Krishana Kumar which is on a visit to Lahore. MNA & former Chief Minister
Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan, Secretary Energy, Secretary Higher Education and
Chairman Punjab Information Technology Board were also present on the occasion.
Talking
to the Indian delegation, the Chief Minister said that as the prominent
countries of South Asia, it is the joint responsibility of both India and
Pakistan to strive for peace and prosperity in the region so that the
sub-continent could be known in the world for its progress and social welfare.
He said that exchange of delegations at the people’s level is of vital
importance for promoting bilateral relations and harmonious neighbourly ties.
He said that contact at public level will also help the peoples of the two
countries to understand each others’ point of view as well as developing a
realization that poverty and ignorance is the common misfortune of the people
of this region and national resources will have to be spent generously for
getting rid of this problem. He said that there is a growing awareness in both
the countries that they will have to live as peaceful neighbours as it is in
their common interest.
The
Chief Minister while referring to the strategy adopted by the provincial
government for achieving the targets of economic development, agricultural
self-sufficiency and public welfare said that economic self reliance and
raising the living standard of the masses is the priority of his government. He
said that besides utilization of development funds on the provision of better
health and educational facilities to the masses, the standard of services of
the government institutions has also been improved. He said that Punjab is
facing energy crises in order to cope with this problem, the government has
evolved a comprehensive roadmap for increasing power production and investment
by private sector is being fully encouraged for this purpose. He said that the
academic potential of the young generation is being fully promoted through
information technology so that rapid development of digital technology could be
utilized for the promotion of good governance. He further said that besides
modernizing public transport, the other sectors of public welfare are also
being improved.
Secretary
Energy and Chairman Punjab Information Technology Board informed the meeting
about the process of the reforms in energy and information technology sectors
in the province.
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