President
RCCI, Raja Amir Iqbal,
Dear
Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Assalamualaekum,
It is indeed an honor
for me to welcome you all at the Business Opportunities Conference organized by
RCCI in the beautiful city of Istanbul. Napoleon said “If the world was only
one country, Istanbul would be its capital”. So welcome to this historic,
legendary and beautiful city.
I also wish to congratulate Raja Amir Iqbal, Mr.
Saqib Rafiq and their team for organizing this event on such a big scale. I
acknowledge with appreciation your hard work and dedication in making this
event a reality.
We hope with confidence that this event would lay solid
foundations for strong business linkages between Pakistan and Turkey - the two
brotherly countries with exceptional warmth and friendship embedded in the
hearts of their people for each other.
Our special ties are enriched
by common faith, culture, linguistic affinities and shared history. We owe this
friendship to our forefathers who stood by each other in difficult times and
made sacrifices to nurture this relationship. The spiritual relationship
between Iqbal and Rumi; the selfless sacrifices by the Muslims of subcontinent
during the war of independence of Turkey; the sincere support extended by both
countries to each other; the mutual affection which transcends all cultural and
linguistic barriers, makes Pakistan-Turkey relationship unique. We are indeed, One
Nation Two Countries.
Pakistan and Turkey see strengths of
each other as their own strength. The growing cooperation and collaboration
between the two defence industries, cultural and educational linkages, and
growing Turkish involvement in socio-economic development of Pakistan are clear
manifestation of the desire of the leadership on both sides to transform this
strong political and cultural relationship into a robust economic partnership.
We see the Business Opportunities Conference organised by RCCI as a right step
in the right direction.
Our very experienced Counsel General would soon be sharing
his views regarding business opportunities in Pakistan for the Turkish friends
and vice versa. Symbols of Turkish corporate footprint on Pakistan’s
economic landscape are emerging fast. Metro Buses, Solid Waste Management,
Turkish participation in construction of different portions of Motorway; Arcelik’s
investment of US $ 258 million for acquisition of Dawlance; Zorlu’s undertaking
of 300 MW of Solar power generation in Quaid e Azam Solar Energy Park; Hayat Kimya’s plans to invest US $ 50 million
for setting up a baby diaper manufacturing facility in Pakistan; are some of
the examples of business
trend in Turkey towards Pakistan.
It is our hope that holding of this Business Opportunities
Conference by RCCI will prove to be an important milestone in bringing the
business communities of the two countries face to face to each other to create
a win-win situation. My prayers and best wishes for all of you.
Finally, I would like to once again both thank and
congratulate RCCI for their initiative in bridging the gap between the
corporate sectors of the two countries and I am sure that this get together
will lead to a series of such get togethers in the near future.
Thank you all!
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