Pakistan occupies very special place in eyes of Turkish people: minister

ISLAMABAD: Turkish Minister for National Education Ziya Selçuk on Friday said that Pakistan occupies a very special place in the eyes of the people of Turkey.

Pakistan and Turkey had supported each other throughout history, he said and emphasized that Turkey would not forget the support given by the people of Pakistan during Turkish War of Independence, Çanakkale War, and the July 15, 2016 failed coup.

The Turkish Minister said this while speaking as the chief guest during an awards ceremony for the third edition of “Jinnah Young Writers Award” essay competition held in Ankara, a message received here from Ankara said.

The award, named after the Founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, is the initiative of the Pakistan Embassy, organized in collaboration with the Ministry of National Education of Turkey.

The theme for this year’s competition was “Brotherly country Pakistan where history and tourism meet.” A total of 78 short-listed essays were received for the competition from 44 provinces across Turkey.

The minister mentioned that the Jinnah Young Writers Awards competition would create further awareness about the unique Pakistan-Turkey relations, which were deep rooted in history. He proposed holding a similar competition in Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Ambassador in Turkey Syrus Sajjad Qazi in his remarks said Jinnah Young Writers Award was a key feature of the embassy’s public diplomacy efforts.

He felicitated the participating students for their deep thinking, high quality information, and passion and perspective contained in the essays and termed their efforts as a valuable contribution to the Pakistan-Turkey relationship.

Zeynep ASLAN of Türkan Ömer Okan Anadolu High School, Gaziantep province clinched first position; Elif KUYUMCU of Etimesgut Sehit Velit Bekdas Anadolu High School Ankara obtained second position, while Irem KARLIKLI of Social Science High School of Trabzon province secured the third position.

Essays written by Gülay ÇAKIR of Sehit Turgut Solak Art High School of Balikesir province, Selahattin UMUTLU of Yücel Boru Art High School of Kocaeli province, and Erol ÇALLI of Hasan Zeki Boz Anadolu High School of Usak province were awarded “Honorable Mention.”

Brief introductory documentary on Pakistan and Turkey was also shown to the audience. Senior officials of the Ministry of Education, representatives of various Turkish institutions, students, their parents and media representatives attended the event.