LAHORE: As Pakistan and China commemorated 75 years of diplomatic relations, the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Lahore on Thursday conferred the Friendship Award 2025 on the Director General of Civil Services Academy (CSA), Lahore, in recognition of growing institutional collaboration and a shared commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation in governance and civil service training.
The award was presented at a special ceremony held at the Chinese Consulate by Cao Ke, Consul General of China in Lahore. The honour symbolised goodwill, institutional recognition and a forward-looking resolve to deepen cooperation between the two countries, particularly at the induction stage of civil service training, enabling newly recruited officers to benefit from comparative administrative learning and cross-cultural governance exposure.
Speaking on the occasion, Cao Ke underscored the importance of initiating structured and sustainable cooperation between the CSA and Chinese civil service training institutions, noting that early engagement could play a vital role in shaping future leadership and strengthening people-to-people ties.
During the meeting, both sides held detailed discussions on practical mechanisms to institutionalise collaboration. Proposals included the launch of online and hybrid lecture series on Chinese culture, society, governance and development experience for probationers of the Common Training Programme, Specialised Training Programmes and DMCMC, aimed at building foundational knowledge and a broader global perspective.
The discussions also envisaged faculty and probationer exchange programmes with leading Chinese training institutions, including the Party School, focusing on governance models, public administration reforms, leadership development and policy innovation. Another proposal was the establishment of “Confucius Corners” at CSA libraries to serve as permanent knowledge hubs for Chinese language, history, philosophy and governance studies.
In addition, the two sides explored the possibility of one-month leadership and governance immersion programmes for probationary officers, with emphasis on comparative administrative practices, policy formulation and leadership skills. Case-based and scenario-driven learning modules drawing on China’s administrative, economic and social development experience were also proposed for officers across all occupational groups.
It was noted during the meeting that Chinese language classes had already been conducted last year for probationers of the 52nd and 53rd Common Training Programmes, with support from the Chinese Consulate General in Lahore and the Punjab University Confucius Centre. This initiative was described as a foundational step towards promoting cultural and linguistic understanding at the early stages of civil service training.
Participants highlighted China’s economic, social and public policy achievements over the past three decades, including infrastructure-led growth, poverty alleviation, urban governance, digital public service delivery and long-term planning. Probationary officers, particularly those of the Pakistan Administrative Service, were expected to derive valuable insights from these experiences to inform governance, leadership and policy implementation in Pakistan.
The meeting concluded with a mutual agreement to move swiftly towards operationalising the proposed initiatives. The Director General of the CSA nominated Director (CB) as the focal person to coordinate programmes and exchanges, while the Chinese Consulate General in Lahore nominated Wang to draft and outline key points of collaboration.
The Director General further reaffirmed that the CSA would submit a detailed proposal and a draft memorandum of understanding through its administrative ministry, the Establishment Division, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and subsequently to the Chinese Embassy, in line with prescribed diplomatic and administrative procedures.
