KARACHI, May 1: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has said that Pakistan has an active programme for poverty alleviation which the present government is pursuing in all earnestness and endeavouring to make it as effective and wide-ranging as possible.
In his message to the 3rd Convention of SAARC Diploma Engineers Forum, Mr Jamali said the government would be following the proceedings of the Forum's Convention with interest to see if any of its proposals could fruitfully be adopted.
He greeted the participants from the Saarc member countries, and hoped that their stay in Pakistan would be a source of pleasure for them.
Wishing the convention all success in its ambitious undertaking, the prime minister observed that it was a sign of an extraordinary initiative to unite diploma engineers from seven countries on one platform and, he added, spoke volumes about the sense of enterprise in the office-holders.
"While it is not unusual for professionals to form a union or association, one always hails such efforts aimed at unity," he said, and added, that he was much impressed by the theme - Role of mid-level engineers in poverty reduction in SAARC region - for the convention.
The prime minister noted that instead of confining themselves to their own problems of rights and privileges, the engineers of the forum had ventured into the domain of public welfare by selecting the subject.
He observed that the forum believed in engineers' contribution to the projects that provided employment to a big number of people. He commended the humanitarian gesture on the part of the forum.
Mr Jamali wished that other professional bodies would also think on these lines for the sake of national good.
KHALEDA ZIA: In her message, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh said that it was a happy occasion that the SDEF Convention was going to be held in Karachi.
She congratulated all the diploma engineers of the region and wished for their success.
She said that the Shaheed President, Ziaur Rahman, who had taken the initiative to bring Saarc into existence, rightly felt that cooperation among the people of Saarc member countries could ensure peace, harmony and prosperity, and pave the way for development of the region.
She hoped that the Convention and the 5th Apex Body Meet of the forum in Karachi would contribute substantially towards achieving the goals. She wished the event all success.
GOVERNORS: Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad, welcoming the delegates, said that diploma engineers of Saarc region, particularly those from Pakistan, constituted a significant part of our trained manpower who contributed to peace, progress and prosperity of the people living in the region.
This trained manpower of millions can play a key role in the uplift of downtrodden people in all the member states.
He hoped that the convention would provide a good opportunity to the participating delegates to join hands to face challenges.
Punjab Governor Lt-Gen (r) Khalid Maqbool said in his message that the trained force of 1.3 million diploma engineers of Saarc region could play a vital role in the infrastructure uplift of their countries.
This, in turn, is a vital component of poverty alleviation, which is a major challenge being faced by all the Saarc member states.
He said that the theme of the conference was in line with the development policies of all the governments in the region.
He hoped that the convention would deliberate upon evolving ways and means to meet the challenge of poverty reduction.
Governor Lt-Gen (r) Syed Iftekhar Hussain Shah of the NWFP, in his message said that reduction in poverty, prevailing in all the member countries, was not an easy task.
The trained, skilled and well-educated membership of this forum has a good opportunity to contribute efforts and means to poverty alleviation which is possible through uplift of technological advancement in the region. Without giving a boost to education, knowledge and technology, the objective before the convention cannot be achieved.
With cooperation and assistance of respective governments, and with dedication and endeavours by millions of diploma engineers, we hope to improve the socio-economic conditions of the people, he said.
Balochistan Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani said this forum could marshal their knowledge and skill to contribute towards ameliorating the lot of the poor people living in their respective countries.
In this era of technology, such objectives can be achieved through widening the scope and means of technical education. The challenge of poverty alleviation can be met only with sincere endeavours by our skilled human resource, and the 1.3 million strong community of diploma engineers is a powerful workforce which can play a vital role in upgrading the standard of living of the poverty-hit people, who need support, education and guidance from the vast membership of this forum.