Foreign delegates admire love, hospitality of Pakistani people

Islamabad

The hospitality love and sincerity of Pakistani people and peaceful living environment were opposite to the picture portrayed by sections of foreign media about the country.

These views were expressed by one of the delegates from Philippines Nehema K. Misok at the concluding ceremony of first ever two-day International TVET Conference arranged by National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC).

Talking to this agency, she said it was overwhelming for me and all of the delegates belonging to more than 15 countries to visit different beautiful places here, taste traditional Pakistani food and meet with hardworking loving and generous people of this country.

Sharing her experience of having been in Pakistan for the very first time she said, before coming to Pakistan me, my family and friends were very much concerned about my visit due to the law and order situation depicted by the media.

“I was nervous and little bit frightened during the visit to a place Pir Sohawa on such a high altitude for dinner at Monal Restaurant last night along with police squads. I keep on texting my friends and relatives meanwhile but when I reached there and tasted the food and looked at the natural environment and scenic beauty, I realised that it was all fun and memorable event,” she added.

“Today, I can say that it’s no wonder if they (Pakistani people) took us here,” she said.

Another delegate from South Korea Jin Park said: “I was not familiar with the progress Pakistan has made in the TVET sector. It was an opportunity to have great learning experiences from the TVET practices of experts here.”

He said he hoped to see more avenues of cooperation between Pakistan and South Korea specifically in TVET sector.

A delegate from Turkey Selahittin Aydin sharing his experiences with this agency said the conference provided a vast learning opportunity to the foreign experts in TVET sector and would serve as impetus to implement the best TVET practices shared by all.

Pakistan will catch up with the developed countries in a short span of time in terms of achieving the target of youth employability he observed.

A Malaysian delegate Razali Bin Hassan said Pakistan is a good country and Malaysia and Pakistan were enjoying close and cordial relations.

He said it is heartening to see how Pakistan is moving forward in TVET sector through great political will.

Malaysia is eager to share its expertise with Pakistan in TVET sector and hope to have future collaborations.

Mike Dawe a delegate from United Kingdom said sharing and learning from each other would help address the challenges being faced in TVET sector globally.

He said this conference would prove as stepping stone in enhancing collaborations in field of TVET internationally.

Addressing the concluding ceremony Country Director GIZ Pakistan Julie Reviere expressed her commitment to continue supporting NAVTTC in its endeavours to promote skill based education for enhancing employability.

She termed political will stamina for going extra miles and cooperation as essential elements for bringing development in TVET sector.

NAVTTC Executive Director Zulfiqar Ahmad Cheema on the occasion said the success of today’s conference has changed the perception of the foreign delegates about Pakistan presented through media reports.

He said this was the age of collectivism and collective efforts for equipping youth with skills to help them earn a respectful livelihood were need of the hour.

The foreign delegates who participated in the conference were awarded with certificates by the NAVTTC.

The foreign delegates belonged to different countries including Germany, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Malaysia, Belarus, United Kingdom and Philippines etc.