ISLAMABAD, Jan 9: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has called upon Canadian entrepreneurs developing agricultural land in areas short of labour to recruit Pakistani manpower.

Talking to Canadian Minister for Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney, who had called on him on Friday, he pointed out what he called an inordinate delay in the processing of immigration papers of Pakistani nationals by the Canadian authorities and said that they should be treated at par with immigrants from other countries.

The prime minister thanked the Canadian government for doubling its economic assistance to Pakistan, from $30 million to $60 million.

He hoped that Canada would also provide technical and financial help for upgrading universities and vocational institutions to train local manpower to enable them to meet the standard set by Canadian employers.

He pointed out that Pakistan was still hosting millions of Afghan refugees while the international community appeared to have forgotten them.

He said that restoration of peace in Afghanistan would enable the refugees to return and would also open up new avenues of trade and economic cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan and between Central Asian states and South Asia.

The Canadian minister termed Pakistan a significant source of workers for his country.

He agreed that there had been delays in processing immigration cases of Pakistanis, but promised that the government would try to reduce the processing period.

He said that the Pakistani diaspora in Canada played the role of a bridge between the two countries and promised to consider increasing the recruitment from Pakistan.

He praised the prime minister’s decision to appoint a representative of minorities as the federal minister for minorities and government’s efforts to protect minorities’ rights.