Oct 19, 2021: Dr. Sania Nishtar keynoted the 2021 Global Rural Development Forum held in China under the theme of “Global Sustainable Development Cooperation: Poverty Reduction and Rural Development”. The forum was co-hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the National Rural Revitalization Administration and organized by the International Poverty Reduction Center in China. The forum fully demonstrated and shared China’s great achievements and experience in poverty alleviation. The event brought together Minister of Rural Development of Cambodia; Union Minister of Cooperative and Rural Development of Myanmar; Secretary-General of National Anti-poverty Commission of the Philippines; Vice Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Laos; Undersecretary of Productive Inclusion and Rural Development, Ministry of Welfare of Mexico; and Minister of Social Integration and Social Security of Mauritius. Dr. Sania congratulated the Government of China, its people, and the Communist Party of China for achieving the MDG of poverty eradication, well ahead of time. “Poverty alleviation, particularly social protection is the priority of our government. We realize that in Pakistan’s agri-based economy, tackling agriculture is fundamental to poverty reduction since the sector employs 45% of labour force. Ehsaas has 19 social protection programmes for 14 vulnerable groups, and it is closely linked to agriculture and rural economy.”, said Dr. Sania.
