ISLAMABAD, Nov 8: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday said the government was focusing on skill development of youths in Balochistan to enable them to actively take part in the progress of their province.

Speaking to a 75-member students' delegation from Balochistan, he said skill development would prepare them for the vast job opportunities that would be created through mega development projects currently underway in the province.

The delegation comprised students from Gwadar, Mekran and other areas. They are currently receiving training at the National Institute of Scientific and Technological Education, under the Skill Development Training Programme.

The Gwadar Port Authority is also giving them special stipend during their training programme in Islamabad.

"The province remained deprived for the past many years and it is for the first time that the government has taken the task of its development," the prime minister said.

He was confident that projects like Gwadar port, Coastal Highway and Mirani Dam would accelerate economic activities in the province and create immense demand for skilled labour.

Mr Aziz told the delegation that an Australian company had been given contract for copper exploration, while Chinese were already working on Saindak project. The economic potential of Mekran coast would also contribute to the development of the area, he added.

He assured the delegation that the government was working to provide maximum job opportunities to the youth of Balochistan.

"The government's responsibility is to provide job opportunities so that people can exploit their talent," he said, adding that the youth of Balochistan were full of talent.

The prime minister asked the students to be broad-minded and supportive of government's endeavours in bringing investment that would open floodgates of employment opportunities and usher in a new era of development in the province.

"If Balochistan progresses, Pakistan will progress," he said.

Mr Aziz said the government would soon release funds for Gwadar Institute of Technology, and work on the institute would start soon.

He said the government was creating a conducive climate to attract foreign investment for the country's development - APP