Badal urges Australian envoy for cooperation in agriculture
CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday sought Australian help in the fields of education, skilltraining, agriculture and urban development.
The CM sought this help when Australian High Commissioner to India Harinder Sidhu called on him here at his official residence this afternoon, an official spokesman said.
Badal said Punjab was a vibrant state and vies for new vistas where Punjab and Australia could benefit from each other’s expertise in fields such as agriculture, foodprocessing and horticulture.
He urged Sidhu to help the state by providing highyield quality wheat seeds to enhance its production. Badal also requested her to initiate a farmer-exchange programme between Punjab and Australia to enable them to learn new techniques and modern practices to maximise yield. He impressed upon the visiting high commissioner to tie up with their educational institutions and universities in the field of higher and technical education.
He evinced interest for collaboration with the Australian government to start new courses in skill development to enable the unemployed youth in the state to be employed.
Badal offered the Australian envoy to set up healthcare and research institutions in the upcoming Medicity in Mullanpur near Chandigarh.
Responding to the issues raised by the chief minister, Sidhu apprised Badal that the Australian government was already in the advanced stage of signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Punjab Institute of Sports to provide training to sportspersons as well as the coaches.
She said the Australian government was in the process of inking another MoU with National Institute of Sports, Patiala, and expressed gratitude to the Punjab government for having penned an MoU with Australia in the field of sports.
She also offered to help the state in developing Ludhiana,
Jalandhar and Amritsar as smart cities. Felicitating the Australian envoy, Badal said she has made every Punjabi proud by reaching the zenith of her professional career. The chief minister invited her to visit their ancestral village Dharamkot in Moga district along with her parents.
OZ ENVOY HARINDER SIDHU TELLS BADAL HIS GOVT IS CLOSE TO SIGNING MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE PUNJAB INSTITUTE OF SPORTS