Prim
e Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday made a telephone call to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of the UAE, and exchanged views on bilateral relations and regional developments.
The prime minister reaffirmed the importance Pakistan attaches to its strong fraternal ties with UAE and close cooperation between the two countries. Prim
e Minister Imran Khan thanked the crown prince for releasing 700 Pakistani prisoners during the holy month of Ramazan. The prime minister also expressed appreciation for UAE’s
understanding and support for Pakistan on the FATF issue.
The two leaders discussed ways of further deepening bilateral cooperation in all spheres and agreed to maintain close consultations on regional and multilateral issues.
Separately, Prim
e Minister Imran Khan tasked Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shah Farman to increase contacts with political leadership of Afghanistan, saying that the best relationship at all levels between the two countr
ies is in the interest of people of the region. The prime minister directed the governor to make contacts with his Afghan counterparts and play role in further strengthening relationship between the two countries.
Talking to UN Resident Coordinator Neil Buhne, Prim
e Minister Imran Khan said the government is focusing to address the issues of malnutrition and adulteration which are adversely impacting the growth of young population. The prime minister highlighted key priority areas of the government and said the development of merged tribal areas is another key priority for the government. He said the present government has allocated the highest ever funds for the uplift of the merged areas.
Discussing government’s flagship Ehsaas programme, the prime minister highlighted its various features and appreciated technical assistance being provided by the UN agencies. On the issue of population growth, the prime minister ob
served that the issue of population is connected with the primary healthcare and primary education and, therefore, the government is according priority to these areas. Efforts to eliminate polio from the country also came
under discussion.
The prime minister highlighted the successes made in the billion tree tsunami p
roject and ob
served that the 10 billion tree plantation p
roject will go a long way in mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change in the country.
Neil Buhne briefed the prime minister about the engagement of various UN agencies with relevant government departments and ministries in critical areas such as good governance, health and education, youth development, population control and addressing the issue of climate change.
