September 17, 2018: Founder CODE PAKISTAN Mr. Dilawar held a meeting with His Excellency Mr. Yao Jing, the Ambassador of China to Pakistan. Mr. Dilawar Khan met Amb. Yao Jing as head of a delegation of representatives of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) meeting with Amb. Yao Jing. During the meeting, Founder CODE PAKISTAN Mr. Dilawar Khan held extensive discussion with Amb. Yao Jing on his idea of the possible creation of a FATA Entrepreneurs’ Forum. Mr. Dilawar Khan shared with Amb. Yao Jing that the envisioned FATA Entrepreneurs’ Forum would promote the interests of the youth from FATA by linking them with Chinese subject matter experts, entrepreneurs, and businesses through meaningful channels of interaction. Mr. Khan added that such an interaction could lead to substantial economic development in FATA through skill development and advancement of market opportunities for the youth from FATA.
Mr. Khan apprised Amb. Yao Jing about the challenges that could emerge with the merger of FATA with the Kyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province of Pakistan. Mr. Khan told Amb. Yao Jing that it was the right time to respond to the challenges of the relative backwardness of FATA in comparison with KP by channeling resources and expertise to the economic development of FATA. Mr. Khan added that since the youth of FATA could play a major role in the economic development and empowerment of the region, they needed to be engaged to make the process of merger of FATA with KP easy on them and to enable them to play a more proactive role in the development of FATA. Mr. Khan was of the view that with the assistance of the Government of China, a longstanding friend of Pakistan, FATA could also embark on a process of development, owned and driven by its own youth but guided by the expertise of Chinese experts.