ISLAMABAD  -  Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday formed National Youth Council to engage youth, increase their empowerment in policy making and give them more meaningful role in strengthening of institutions.

The prime minister will be the chairman of the council and ministers of youth affairs of the provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan will be the members.

The council will have 113 youth members and will work for and represent young people, aged 10 to 29 years. It will act as an official representative body of youth led civil society, both from the public and private sectors from across Pakistan. The council will work to advance pro youth development and empowerment agenda as outlined in the National Youth Development Framework by advising on and facilitating processes and mechanisms that include and integrate young people into policy making, implementation, monitoring and evaluation at all levels of government.

It will provide a sustainable platform for unified engagement with decision makers in public and private sector as well as international youth led development initiatives.

It will mobilise the voice of young people and advocate with all levels of government to meaningfully engage young people.

It will identify policy and institutional gaps and provide strategic advice and direction for youth development and empowerment.

The council will support federal, provincial and local government institutions in developing youth focused programmes, initiatives and institutional reforms.

It will monitor and assess impact of pro-youth schemes and initiatives at all levels of government and will strengthen the structure and institutionalization of National Youth Council.

The council members will broadly work around seven thematic areas including support in areas of policy, media, institutionalization of National Youth Council, support to marginalized youth, employment, reproductive health and youth engagement.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday was apprised that over 200 business-to-business (B2B) agreements along with a memorandum of understanding worth $70 million have been signed with several Chinese companies.

The PM chaired a review meeting regarding the progress of ongoing projects and various initiatives under the Board of Investment (BOI), a PM office news release said.

PM Shehbaz Sharif said an effective and comprehensive roadmap should be formulated for the completion of B2B agreements and the implementation of signed memorandums of understanding with international investors.

“Work on regulatory reforms should be accelerated to provide a conducive environment for business in the country. Such targets should be set for investment that can be achieved as soon as possible,” the PM said.

Effective marketing of investment opportunities in Pakistan is essential to attract foreign investors, the prime minister said.

The prime minister directed to complete the construction of business facilitation centers in the country as soon as possible. He underscored that the construction of business facilitation centers, organization of road shows and other such initiatives were critical to attract foreign investment to the country.

He was also briefed that some 35 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the country have been surveyed through Geographical Information System (GIS), whereas extensive data was available on the SEZs to accelerate the progress of ongoing projects.

During the meeting, the BOI officials informed that an 18-point plan was formulated to make special economic zones more effective. Moreover, suggestions regarding the Ease of Doing Business Act 2024 were also presented during the meeting.

Under the Ease of Doing Business Act 2024, the Board of Investment would be able to create a regulatory framework for business in the country in accordance with the modern requirements, he added.

Federal Minister for Privatization Abdul Aleem Khan and senior officers of relevant institutions were present in the meeting.