LAHORE: Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif was given exceptional welcome during his visit to Turkey on Saturday. The chief minister held meetings with Turkish President Recep Teyyip Erdogan, Prime Minister Bin Yildrim, ministers and senior officials.
A luncheon was held in the honour of the chief minister by the Turkish premier. On the directions of the Turkish leadership, the visits of the chief minister to various hospitals and public service departments were also arranged.
PAKISTANI STUDENTS LEARNING TURKISH CALL ON CM: Meanwhile, Pakistani students in Turkey called on Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Talking to the students, the chief minister said the students learning Turkish are ambassadors of Pakistan and they should show through their actions and hard work that Pakistanis are an efficient nation. He asked them to make extraordinary efforts to learn Turkish as hard work is the key to success. He said the Punjab government will send more students to Turkey to learn Turkish on government expenditures.
The students thanked the chief minister and Punjab government, and said that they got the chance to learn Turkish language due to personal interest of the chief minister. They said they have received exceptional love from the Turkish people and they promised that they will utilize every moment of their trip to achieve exceptional command over Turkish language.
Pakistani consulate in Turkey, Dr Yusuf Junaid, said best possible facilities have been provided to the students and these facilities will also be provided in the future as well. Turkish ambassador to Pakistan, Syrus Sajjad Qazi, was also present on the occasion. Under the Punjab government Turkish language programme, 30 students were sent to University of Istanbul on government scholarships.
CM Shehbaz also visited the Fatih Sultan Muhammad Hospital, Istanbul, where he was given a detailed briefing on the hospital. Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said the measures taken by the Turkish government in the health sector are exemplary and the Punjab government is also trying to learn from Turkish experiences.
Separately talking to a delegation of Turkish investors, the chief minister said Turkish cooperation in the energy field and other sectors will be remembered by coming generation of Pakistan. He said roots of Pak-Turkey cooperation are very deep and for translating these relations into the economic improvement we are thankful to the Turkish leadership. He urged the Turkish investors working on the solar power projects to complete their project by the middle of November.
It is worth mentioning the 300MW power plant being established in Bahawalpur by the Zorlu company; it is first plant of its kind in terms of price of electricity. The 200MW portion of the project will provide electricity at the cost of 5.15 cent per unit. The chief minister said the providing cheap electricity to the people is his mission and he will make every possible effort to realize this dream.
