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'Human development key to fighting terrorism'

He was addressing the joint conference of Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Development and Pakistan Human Development Fund, titled, Strategic Planning Retreat (NCHD-PHDF), at a local hotel in the capital.

NCHD-PHDF is a fast track initiative based on a three-way partnership between the government of Pakistan, the civil society and international donor agencies to help Pakistan achieve the country’s Millennium Development Goals.

Shaikh Nahyan said that like Pakistan, the UAE strategy for human development is to set high standards for itself and establish high expectations for collective endeavours.

He added that the UAE’s goal is to produce mature, well adjusted, responsible people who respond creatively to economic and educational opportunities and to their obligations as citizens of the UAE.

Similarly, like Pakistan, the UAE believes that successful human development requires the commitment of the entire society, he said.

Also, like Pakistan, the UAE human development strategy focuses on promoting women’s rights and empowering its woman citizens. “In education, the UAE has a very strong record of gender equality.

Like many developed countries, the attendance rate of females in all levels of education is higher than it is for males, and the UAE is also making important progress in employment opportunities for women,” Shaikh Nahyan said.

He admired Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s vision for his country’s present and future as a modern and progressive country that is a force for regional peace and stability and an active partner in world community.

He congratulated Musharraf on the progress made in the area of human development by Pakistan.

He said that the work of NCHD, which has established 22,000 schools all over Pakistan in the last five years, in addition to making great strides in healthcare and eradication of poverty and illiteracy, clearly reflects a strong conviction that successful human development is essential to national progress and prosperity.

Shaikh Nahyan was confident that Pakistan will continue to ensure that every child receives an education that allows him or her to develop their full potential.

Pakistan will continue to commit the resources needed to build and sustain a high quality healthcare system and commit to the ongoing campaign of eradicating poverty and illiteracy, he said.

“All of us, who love Pakistan and its people, will commit ourselves to providing the support we can to help achieve your goal of developing your human resources,” he said.

Welcoming Shaikh Nahyan, who is also chairman of Abu Dhabi Group, Naseem Ashraf, chairman of NCHD, said that the Group was the largest investor in Pakistan.

He described Shaikh Nahyan as the best friend of Pakistan.

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