LAHORE:
Qatar has expressed interest in increasing recruitment of skilled labour force from Punjab.
The Ambassador of Qatar, Ali bin Mubarak Al Khater, praised the skilled manpower of Pakistan during a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Muslim League-N President Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.
The leaders stressed the need to strengthen bilateral relations and find new ways of cooperation.
The chief minister briefed the ambassador about the business-friendly policies of the Punjab government and invited Qatari businesspeople and industrialists to invest in the province.
“We want to promote economic relations between Punjab and Qatar,” she said during the meeting held to discuss possible investment opportunities, labour force supply from the province and other matters of mutual interest.
Cooperation in the development of infrastructure and other sectors in Punjab was also discussed in the meeting.
The chief minister also presided over a meeting to review progress on the construction, expansion and rehabilitation of roads in the province.
She directed the authorities concerned to ensure to meet the deadline for the construction and repair of roads across Punjab.
The chief minister was briefed in detail about the progress made in the roads maintenance programme in the province. She was also briefed on the construction and maintenance of five major expressways.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also launched the registration process for issuing Kisan Cards.
Under the scheme, agricultural loans worth Rs300 billion will be given to farmers annually.
The CM said 500,000 farmers owning up to 12.5 acres of agriculture land would be able to benefit from the initiative.
In order to apply for the card, the land must be registered in the Land Record Centre and the mobile SIM must be registered against the applicant’s own national identity card number.
“Every farmer will be able to get an easy loan of up to Rs150,000 for one crop season using the Kisan Card. The farmers will be able to buy fertilisers, seeds and other agricultural inputs with the card,” the chief minister said.
The identity cards will be verified by NADRA and it will be ensured that the applicant is not a defaulter of any financial institution. The farmers will return in easy installments the interest-free loan within six months. After paying off the loan, the farmer will be eligible to get a loan again for the next crop.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 5th, 2024.
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