President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday inaugurated through video link the state-of-the-art Recep Tayyip Erdogan Trust Hospital set up in Muzaffargarh district of South Punjab with the cooperation of Turk government and people.
Turkey’s president pressed the remote control button and unveiled the plaque of the hospital, shown live from Turkey through video link. Turkey’s vice president, ministers, members parliament and president of TIKA were present at the inaugural ceremony in Turkey, while Shahbaz Sharif, Adviser on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique, Turkish Ambassador Babur Girgin, members national and provincial assembly, health experts, intellectual and a large number of people attended the ceremony in Muzaffargarh.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Sharif said that the state-of the art hospital was another milestone in Pak-Turk friendship. He said that the friendship between the peoples of the two countries is more than what is shared between two brothers. He said that a modern and splendid hospital equipped with latest facilities has been set up in Muzaffargarh and it is a glorious example of help and assistance by a brother to another brother in the hour of need. He said that there is no other hospital of this kind in Pakistan.
Addressing the Turkish president in Ankara, the chief minister said that the cooperation extended by him to the people of Pakistan during flood of 2010 could never be forgotten. He said that Turkish president along with his daughter came to Pakistan and extended all out help to marooned people, while the first lady of Turkey also visited Ankara, Istanbul and other cities of Turkey to collect funds for the distressed Pakistani brethren. With the help of which this splendid hospital has been constructed, he added.
Sharif said that the people of Pakistan would always remember the sincerity and brotherhood of the Turkish leadership at this difficult time. He said that friendship between Pakistan and Turkey is unprecedented and there are deep-rooted historical, religious and cultural ties between the two countries.
Addressing Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the chief minister said that he is a great leader and the Turkish nation is proud of him. He said that just like the hospital for the area, the Amina Tayyip Erdogan School, named after his wife, is also a splendid gift for this region. He requested the Turkish president to visit Pakistan as soon as possible and inaugurate this school.
He said that every effort will have to be made to upgrade all government and private hospitals, DHQs, THQs and rural and basic health centres to the level of Recep Tayyip Erdogan Trust Hospital so that Pakistan could be made an Islamic welfare state as was envisioned by Quaid and Iqbal.
The CM announced that the bed capacity of Recep Tayyip Erdogan Trust Hospital would be increased from 100 to 500 beds and said that it has also been decided to establish a medical college, nursing training centre and research and development departments in the hospital. Funds worth billions of rupees will be allocated for this project during next financial year. He said that the site of the project has been selected while its design has also been prepared and these projects will be completed within two years.
Earlier, Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his address through video link said that cooperation with Pakistan in different sectors would be continued. He also congratulated the Pakistani nation on fighting terrorism and other problems with courage and determination. He said that military and political leadership in Pakistan and all stakeholders are making all out efforts to cope with the challenge of terrorism and Pakistan will soon come out of these issues and emerge as a strong economy. Referring to the international situation, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Muslim Ummah is facing a number of problems and collective efforts are needed to resolve them.
