Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai met for the first time on July 8 in Oslo after both attended a United Nations education summit in the Norwegian capital.
The 17-year-old activist, who was shot and nearly killed by the Taliban in Pakistan in October 2012 for insisting girls have a right to an education, said Sharif told her that his government would support her if she decided to visit the country.
Malala, who has made her home in Britain since the failed assassination attempt against her, said Sharif told her that Pakistan “is always there” for her.
Malala said she replied: “It is my responsibility as a Pakistani to return to Pakistan and help people there.”
She said the two also discussed Pakistan’s education system, child labor, and forced child marriages in Pakistan.
Malala will mark her 18th birthday on July 12.