This was stated by Administrator for USAID, Ambassador Randall Tobias during a meeting with President General Pervez Musharraf here on Friday. Tobias, who is Director US Foreign Assistance, said America greatly values its wide-ranging relationship with Pakistan and will extend co-operation for improvement in a host of areas including health, education at both basic and higher levels.
He informed the President about the award of scholarships to Pakistani students and expressed the hope that their expertise would be extremely beneficial for the country in the years ahead.
President Musharraf thanked the US official for assisting Pakistan through various programmes under USAID.
He informed the visiting official about Pakistan's efforts aimed at improving the quality of higher education as well as equipping the schools and colleges with better facilities.
"We are resolved to equip the younger generation with modern skills as part of our focus on human resource development, which, we believe, lies at the core of sustained development," President said.
Speaking about the recently established National Vocational and Technical Education Commission, the President said it would produce skilled workforce, necessary for the country's rapid industrial development.
The NAVTECH, he said, would set up vocational institutes all over the country to train the local talent in consonance with the economic potential of their areas.
On the objectives of the higher education, he said it is engaged in a process of establishing high quality engineering, science and technology universities with the help of industrialised nations to synergise education with demands of fast-paced advancement in the era of knowledge-based economies.
In this respect, the President looked forward to the US co-operation and particularly pointed out that Pakistani students could greatly benefit from the US expertise in the field of water management and technical assistance for water dams. Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance, Dr Salman Shah and US Ambassador to Pakistan Ryan C Crocker were also present.