KARACHI: Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) on Thursday agreed to expand cooperation in education, health, culture, disaster management and community development, with the Turkish agency lauding the Sindh government’s reform agenda.
The understanding came during a meeting between the chief minister and a high-level TIKA delegation led by its Deputy President Dr Ali Ercan at the Chief Minister House.
According to a press statement issued by the CM House, the meeting reviewed longstanding brotherly relations between Pakistan and Turkiye, TIKA’s ongoing initiatives in Sindh and new opportunities for collaboration to improve public services, educational outcomes and socio-economic development.
The chief minister said that Sindh was pursuing an ambitious agenda of educational reform, digital transformation and human capital development and that international partnerships were essential to achieving these objectives.
Dr Ercan was accompanied by Consul General of Turkiye in Karachi Ergul Kadak, TIKA Sindh and Balochistan Head Masuk Pusa, Head of Personnel and Support Services Department Ugur Vanlioglu, Data Control Officer Abdullah Sari and other representatives of TIKA Karachi.
The chief minister was assisted by Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah, Culture Minister Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah, Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab, College Education Secretary Nadeem Memon, School Education Secretary Zahid Abbasi, Health Secretary Tahir Sangi and Culture Secretary Khair Muhammad Kalwar.
The TIKA delegation briefed the chief minister on ongoing projects in Sindh, particularly in clean drinking water, livelihoods, disaster preparedness, education and institutional capacity-building.
The delegation also discussed TIKA’s Rickshaw Employment Programme in Karachi, under which rickshaws were provided to deserving families through a revolving financing model to generate sustainable livelihoods and expand income opportunities for low-income households.
Another initiative reviewed was the Emergency and Disaster Response Training Programme, under which rescue personnel from Sindh have received specialised training in search-and-rescue operations, disaster response management and instructor development, with modern rescue and training equipment also supplied to strengthen local institutions and improve emergency preparedness.
Education Minister Sardar Shah briefed the delegation that the College Education Department oversaw 378 colleges across Sindh serving more than 557,000 students.
He said that the government had introduced BS degree programmes in over 200 colleges, expanded digital learning platforms, launched online administrative services and implemented technology-driven reforms to improve governance and educational outcomes.
The chief minister expressed interest in expanding cooperation with TIKA in higher education, technical and vocational training, digital learning, faculty development and institutional strengthening, saying Sindh is keen to benefit from Türkiye’s experience in educational innovation and skills development.
Dr Ercan reaffirmed TIKA’s commitment to supporting development initiatives in Sindh and praised the provincial government’s efforts in education, social welfare and institutional reforms, saying that TIKA values its partnership with Sindh and looks forward to identifying new areas of cooperation that can deliver tangible benefits to local communities.
Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2026
