Pakistan and China Hold TVET Symposium on the Healthcare Sector

BEIJING (GNP): The Embassy of Pakistan in Beijing on Wednesday hosted a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Symposium focused on pharmaceuticals, healthcare and biotechnology, aimed at deepening collaboration between Pakistan and China ahead of a major investment conference set for later this month.

The event, themed “Building Partnerships for Skills Development, Industry Integration and Investment Facilitation,” was designed as a preparatory session for the Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference on Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare and Biotechnology, which will take place in Karachi from July 17 to 19.

Speaking at the opening of the symposium, Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Khalil Hashmi, described the gathering as the next step in the Pakistan-China TVET Initiative, which links vocational training with efforts to attract investment. He pointed to Pakistan’s youthful population, more than 240 million people, over 60 percent of them under the age of 30, as evidence of the country’s potential to emerge as a regional hub for the pharmaceutical, healthcare and biotechnology industries. China’s progress in these fields, he said, offers a useful model for Pakistan’s own industrial and skills development.

According to the ambassador, the initiative is intended to draw Chinese vocational institutions and companies into the Karachi conference while advancing industry-led training, apprenticeships and long-term partnerships between the two countries. He outlined a two-track strategy that would bring Chinese TVET institutions into the B2B conference itself and also convene a separate TVET Partnership Forum on its sidelines, focused on vocational education, workforce development and investment facilitation under the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal addressed the symposium virtually, reaffirming the long-standing relationship between the two countries and outlining the government’s Uraan Pakistan vision to build a more competitive, knowledge-based economy through skills development tied to industry needs. He pointed to joint training programmes, university-industry collaboration, faculty and student exchanges, certification schemes and planned Pakistan-China Centres of Excellence as key elements in preparing the workforce needed for the pharmaceutical, healthcare and biotechnology sectors.

Gulmina Bilal Ahmad, Chairperson of the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC), also spoke via video message, calling for practical, outcome-focused cooperation between institutions in both countries. She proposed train-the-trainer programmes, faculty exchanges, scholarships, joint certification pathways and enterprise-backed training initiatives, and credited the Embassy for bringing together industry representatives, investors and vocational institutions for the event.

Zhang Junhua, Section Chief in the Department of Vocational Capacity Building at China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, delivered the keynote address, sharing insights from China’s experience in building a skilled workforce for its pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors. She said the ministry had invited five Chinese technical institutions specializing in pharmaceutical and healthcare education to explore cooperation with Pakistan, and reaffirmed China’s interest in expanding joint training, institutional exchanges and resource sharing. She also invited a Pakistani delegation to take part in the 48th WorldSkills Competition, scheduled to be held in Shanghai from September 22 to 27.

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The symposium also featured presentations from several Chinese TVET institutions, followed by interactive discussions on possible areas of collaboration with Pakistani counterparts in skills development, vocational education and industry engagement.

Closing the event, Ambassador Hashmi thanked Iqbal, Ahmad, Zhang and the participating Chinese institutions for their contributions and their interest in the upcoming Karachi conference. He reaffirmed the Embassy’s commitment to strengthening Pakistan-China socio-economic cooperation and said he expected the symposium to translate into concrete partnerships supporting skills development, industrial cooperation and investment across the pharmaceutical, healthcare and biotechnology sectors.