LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Sunday met Munsoo Kurrimbaccus, High Commissioner of the Republic of Mauritius to Pakistan, and underscored the need to strengthen bilateral cooperation with focus on trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges.
During the meeting, she stressed the importance of promoting business-to-business contacts, exchange of trade delegations and organisation of business exhibitions to showcase quality products from both sides. She expressed her determination to enhance trade and economic cooperation with Mauritius and agreed to expand collaboration in education, tourism, agriculture and human resource development.
She noted that Punjab was investing heavily in human capital development, with more than 100,000 youth being trained as a skilled workforce under the Skill Development Programme. She added that bilateral trade between Pakistan and Mauritius had witnessed encouraging growth in recent years, while Punjab continued to offer significant opportunities in agro-processing, value-added food products, textiles and pharmaceuticals.
Highlighting the provincial government’s climate-focused policies, the CM said Punjab was promoting green investment under the Climate Resilient Vision Action Plan, with a gradual transition towards forest conservation, green transport and clean energy as part of its commitment to environmental protection.
She said that despite challenges posed by devastating floods, Punjab remained resilient and was actively encouraging foreign investment in tourism. She also identified higher education and professional skills development as priority areas for future cooperation.
CM Maryam paid tribute to High Commissioner Munsoo Kurrimbaccus for his diplomatic efforts in strengthening longstanding friendly relations between Pakistan and Mauritius, based on cultural ties and mutual respect. High Commissioner Munsoo Kurrimbaccus said that promoting tourism would help project Pakistan’s true and positive image to the world and further strengthen bilateral relations.
Separately, CM Maryam Nawaz, in her message on the World Basketball Day, reaffirmed her government’s commitment to promoting basketball and other sports across the province, describing sports as a vital tool for youth development.
She said sports play a key role in instilling teamwork, healthy competition, discipline and endurance among young people. Highlighting ongoing initiatives, the chief minister said world-class sports complexes were being constructed in Punjab, while players would be provided financial and institutional support through an expanded Sports Endowment Fund. She added that sports festivals and competitions would be revived, and the Punjab League would be launched at the union council level to promote grassroots talent. She also pointed out that the “Khelta Punjab” programme had been initiated to encourage wider participation in sports.
CM Maryam said the provincial government was determined to develop 300 grounds and sports complexes for youth. For this purpose, a dedicated construction and renovation department was being established, while the Sports Endowment Fund had been increased from Rs2 billion to Rs4 billion. She added that 10 university students would be included in the Sports Advisory Council to ensure youth representation, and international coaches would be hired to provide modern, high-standard training to athletes. She also termed Punjab’s historic victory in the 35th National Games, where the province secured 126 medals after 37 years, as a commendable achievement.
Also, the Punjab chief minister congratulated the national Under-19 cricket team and the entire nation on Pakistan’s victory over arch-rival India in the Under-19 Asia Cup final. She praised Sameer Minhas for his match-winning innings and acknowledged Subhan’s outstanding bowling performance, saying both played a decisive role in Pakistan’s triumph.
CM Maryam said that hard work, determination and teamwork enabled Pakistani players to overcome even the strongest opponents. She praised the Under-19 team for excelling in all departments of the game — batting, bowling and fielding — and expressed confidence that the team would continue to perform strongly in upcoming competitions.
