Pakistan’s first Health and Education Summit and Expo (HESP) opened today, Saturday, at the Expo Centre Lahore, bringing together policymakers, academics, healthcare leaders, and diplomats for a two-day event.
The summit is organized by the Rashid Latif Khan Group, with support from Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission and the Ministry of National Health. It runs through August 30 and is expected to draw over 120 exhibitors, more than 60 speakers, and upward of 15,000 visitors.
The opening ceremony began with a welcome address from the Rashid Latif Khan Group leadership. Group Chairman Professor Dr. Rashid Latif Khan said the summit was built on the conviction that Pakistan does not lack ideas, but rather platforms capable of organizing them, testing them against evidence, and converting them into policy.
CEO and Convener Sabahat Khan added that its outcome document, the Lahore Health and Education Declaration, would come with a post-event action plan and follow-up mechanism, not end as a standalone discussion.
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Chief guests at the opening ceremony were Khawaja Salman Rafique – Minister for Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education, Punjab, and Rana Mashood Ahmed Khan – Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Program.
Professor Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan – Chairperson of the Punjab Higher Education Commission, attended as guest of honor.
Addressing the gathering, Rana Mashood said the government was pursuing a comprehensive youth agenda spanning employment, skills and international academic linkages.
He said Pakistan’s first National Youth Employment Policy had already been launched, and that agreements had been signed with 50 Chinese universities, over 70 Chinese technical institutions, 25 US universities and 17 US health and technical institutions, with partner-university representatives expected to visit within two months.
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He added that annual nurse output had risen to 38,000, with a target of 60,000-100,000 next year, and that practical steps were being taken to promote health tourism, all framed within the Prime Minister’s Vision 2047.
Other notable attendees included Environment Minister Musadik Malik, senior journalist Sohail Warraich, former Punjab Health Minister Dr. Saeed Elahi, several MPAs, and diplomats from the United States, Mauritius, Rwanda, Somalia, Ethiopia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Palestine, Thailand, Cuba, Nepal, Poland, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Maldives, Iran, Bangladesh and Kyrgyzstan.
The exhibitor floor spans medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing and allied health sciences, with participation from King Edward Medical University, the Pakistan Medical Commission, and the Rashid Latif Khan Group’s own network of colleges.
The summit follows twelve pre-summit think-tank sessions held with the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Doctors Hospital, Hameed Latif Hospital and the University of Lahore, positioning HESP as a platform meant to move beyond dialogue into concrete outcomes as it continues through Sunday.
Established in December 2008, The Diplomatic Insight is Pakistan’s premier diplomacy and foreign affairs magazine, available in both digital and print formats.
