ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reiterated the government`s determination to transform the country`s agriculture sector on modern lines, emphasising that the sustainable development of this key sector of the economy is inevitable.

Speaking at a ceremony here on Wednesday to send off the first batch of 300 agricultural graduates on capacity-building visit to China the prime minister said that the government has allocated Rs3 billion for training of 1,000 young agriculturalgraduates to abreast themselves with modern scientific and technological advancements made by China in the agriculture sector.

Today, it is an important day for agriculture with young graduates leaving for China tolearn from experiences in various spheres of agriculture sector which would be beneficial for increasing the agricultural production.

The prime minister recalled his last visit to China and said he was impressed by theresearch work being carried out in China`s modern agricultural university, and decided to send young agricultural graduates to learn from their Chinese fellow researchers.

IT as mandatory subject In a separate development, the prime minister issued directives to formulate a strategy to make Information Technology a mandatory subject from Grade 6 onwards in the country.

Presiding over a meeting on matters pertaining to the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, the prime minister said that promotion of IT sector and growth in IT-related exports are among the government`s top priorities, a Prime Minister`s Office news release quoted the prime minister as saying.

The inclusion of IT in schoolcurricula is vital to preparing our future generations for the demands of the digital economy, said PM Shehbaz, calling for unified efforts with provincial governments to ensure quality and standardised IT education and training at school, college, and university levels.

He further instructed the ministry concerned to initiate IT training programmes in underdeveloped regions particularly in Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Balochistan.

He stressed that the standard of these programmes should be high enough to enable trainees to secure competitive employment both within Pakistan and abroad.

Officials from the ministry briefed the prime minister in detail about current initiatives and upcoming projects in the IT field. Under the SchoolBroadband Connectivity Project, internet infrastructure in Islamabad schools is being upgraded.

The meeting was informed that during the fiscal year 2024-2025, the IT ministry has already provided high-end IT training to 49,800 individuals and general training to over 600,000 people.

In collaboration with Huwaei, skills and vocational training centers are being set up at the International Islamic University Islamabad, the National University of Sciences and Technology (Nust), and the COMSATS University, Lahore campus.

Additionally, Huwaei`s advanced training programmes in Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Big Data, and Cybersecurity have been integrated into the curricula of the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of EngineeringSciences and Technology (Topi), the University of Engineering and Technology (Taxila), and the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (Jamshoro).

The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, in partnership with Huwaei, will also provide training to 146,367 students and upgrade 1,300 laboratories in the country.

Later, talking to a sevenmember delegation of Association of Chartered Certified Accounts (ACCA) led by its Chief Executive Helen Brand OBE, Prime Minister Shehbaz said the government was prioritising efforts to equip the country`s workforce with skills and training aligned with international standards.

Syed Irfan Raza also contributed to this report