Broke the begging bowl as nations prospered through hard work, not aid: PM

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that he had broken the begging bowl as no nation had ever achieved prosperity through the begging bowl or aid rather through sacrifice and hard work.

“Gone are the days when I will go to a brotherly country with a begging bowl. I have broken that bowl. The bowl will lead us nowhere. When was the last time that a country prospered through aid and bowls? Only the nations made their mark and left indelible footprints through sacrifice, hard work, sweat and blood,” he said addressing a roundtable conference on “Innovate together: UAE-Pakistan Tech Collaboration” during his daylong visit here.

This event was organized by Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) and Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) in collaboration with Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication and Pakistan Embassy in Abu Dhabi.

The event was attended by representatives and heads of Information Technology (IT) companies based in UAE as well as Pakistani IT experts.

The prime minister, who was on his daylong visit to the UAE said that in his scheduled meeting with the UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, he would not seek any loan but joint collaboration and joint investments to have mutual benefits for investors.

Explaining the parameters of his government’s program, he said the Pakistani workers would be imparted the highest standard of vocational training so that they come to UAE and open their offices, provide remote services and make livelihood.

“I am prepared to take that risk because nothing can be achieved without taking risks. I am ready to move forward in this field,” he told the ceremony which marked the signing of three MOUs between Pakistani and UAE IT companies to implement digital transformation.

He appreciated the UAE president’s vision of taking lead in IT, artificial intelligence and constructing information infrastructure on modern lines to build the national economy which should not be dependent on oil and gas, and making the country a hub of imports and exports.