Pakistan, China initiate integration of technical, vocational education

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China have launched a new initiative to integrate technical and vocational education with investment promotion in the pharmaceutical, healthcare and biotechnology sectors, as both countries prepare for a major business-to-business (B2B) investment conference in Karachi later this month.

The Initiative was launched at a TVET Symposium hosted by the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing on Wednesday as a preparatory event for the Pakistan–China B2B Investment Conference on Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare and Biotechnology, scheduled to be held in Karachi from July 17 to 19.

Addressing the symposium, Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Khalil Hashmi, said the event marked the next phase of the Pakistan-China TVET Initiative by linking vocational education with industrial investment under the second phase of CPEC. He said the initiative aims to bring leading Chinese vocational institutions and enterprises into long-term partnerships with Pakistani counterparts through workforce training, apprenticeships and industry-led skills development.

The ambassador said Pakistan’s young population offered significant potential to develop the country into a regional hub for the pharmaceutical, healthcare and biotechnology industries, adding that China’s experience in these sectors provided an important model for industrial and human capital development.

He said the initiative would follow a two-track approach by integrating Chinese TVET institutions into the Karachi investment conference while also holding a dedicated TVET Partnership Forum to promote institutional collaboration, human resource development and investment facilitation.

Speaking through a video message, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said the government, under the Uraan Pakistan vision, was focusing on building a knowledge-driven economy through industry-oriented skills development. He called for stronger university-industry partnerships, joint training programmes, certification mechanisms, faculty and student exchanges, and the establishment of Pakistan-China Centres of Excellence.

NAVTTC Chairperson Gulmina Bilal Ahmad stressed practical cooperation between Pakistani and Chinese institutions, proposing collaboration in train-the-trainer programmes, scholarships, faculty exchanges, enterprise-supported training and sector-specific centres of excellence.

Representing China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, Zhang Junhua said five leading Chinese technical institutions specialising in pharmaceutical and healthcare education had been invited to explore cooperation with Pakistan. She reaffirmed China’s commitment to expanding joint skills training, institutional exchanges and resource sharing, and invited Pakistan to participate in the 48th World Skills Competition in Shanghai in September.

The symposium also featured presentations by leading Chinese vocational institutions and discussions on expanding collaboration in technical education, workforce development and industrial engagement.

Concluding the event, Ambassador Hashmi expressed confidence that the symposium would translate into concrete partnerships supporting skills development, industrial cooperation and investment in Pakistan’s pharmaceutical, healthcare and biotechnology sectors.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026