DAVOS (Switzerland): Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Friday that his government was transforming its human capital into a driver for growth and development by empowering its youth and providing them loans to start business and generate employment.

In an audience with Queen Maxima of Netherlands at the World Economic Forum Congress Centre here, the prime minister said his government was working to provide the youth greater access to education, economic resources, and employment opportunities, to enable them to become equal partners in national economic development.

Queen Maxima said she was looking forward to her visit to Pakistan, her first to the country.

“I have heard that it is a wonderful country and I want to engage in Pakistan to the issues related to women in Pakistan. She said she would like to focus on private-public sector work in Small and Medium Enterprises and women empowerment.”

She said she was convinced that the youth in Pakistan needed an entrepreneurial framework of Small and Medium Enterprises. “I intend to work with international financial institutions which have positive sentiments for Pakistan,” she said.

The Queen appreciated initiatives of the prime minister for empowering the youth in Pakistan and said she looked forward to discussing these issues at all levels.

The prime minister said Small and Medium Enterprises was an area of primary focus for him and the one where his government had ensured gender parity.

He said enhanced focus on SMEs was part of his vision for Pakistan and said he wished to benefit from the successful model of Netherlands in this regard.

He said there had been an increase of 300 per cent in social inclusion layouts, and an increase of 100 per cent in public sector development programme.

He said stipends for the poor have been raised by 50 per cent besides a 50 per cent rise seen in the number of beneficiaries.

TURNAROND: Professor Klaus Chairman of the World Economic Forum also met the prime minister at the WEF Congress Centre and lauded Pakistan’s economic turnaround. He said the country had been undergoing a positive change since 2013.

Professor Schwab said: “I must say Mr Prime Minister that your country is doing a wonderful job.

“There was no hope in 2013, but we now hear from the business community and the world that there is a lot of change in Pakistan,” he added.

The prime minister mentioned the growing interest of foreign investors in country’s energy, telecom, infrastructure, urban development, agro-industry and textiles sectors.

Professor Schwab is the Founder and Executive Chair­man of the World Economic Forum, the international organisation for public-private cooperation.

He founded the Forum in 1971 and believes that the management of a modern enterprise must serve not only shareholders but all stakeholders to achieve long-term growth and prosperity.

BIL WINTERS: Later, talking to Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered, who called on the prime minister on the sidelines of the meeting, Prime Minister Sharif said his government had complete faith in the private sector and its contribution in growth of national economy.

“We are facilitating the private sector through a liberal economic regime,” he added.

Bill Winters said the CPEC would attract the banking sector as with the initiation of the second phase of the project, a number of industrial and economic zones would be established. He said his bank had already started work in this regard.

He said: “Fast growth of Pakistan economy is one of the major attractions for foreign investors,” adding that his bank was investing in power, infrastructure, PIA and other sectors of economy.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2016