Turkish Forum

Category: South Asia

  • Istanbul mayor gives 100 buses for Lahore

    Istanbul mayor gives 100 buses for Lahore

    The visiting mayor drove a bus on the special bus-only lane built down the middle of Ferozepur Road. He was accompanied by Shahbaz Sharif.

    LAHORE:

    Mayor of Istanbul Kadir Topbas announced a gift of 100 buses and inaugurated the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system on Ferozepur Road on Monday, the second and final day of his visit to the provincial metropolis.

    Topbas also laid the foundation stone for the girls campus of Pak-Turk International Schools and Colleges on Raiwind Road; inaugurated a monument in his name near Valencia Town on Raiwind Road; visited Mazar-i-Iqbal and Badshahi Masjid; and was conferred an honorary doctorate at Government College University.

    After inaugurating the BRT, the visiting mayor drove a bus on the special bus-only lane built down the middle of Ferozepur Road from the Naseerabad bus station to Gulab Devi Hospital. He was accompanied by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, as he was a day earlier when driving a cleaning truck after inaugurating a new waste management system, as well as members of his delegation.

    Speaking at the inauguration, Sharif said that the first phase of the bus project from Kahna to Kalma Chowk would be completed in April while the second phase for another 30 kilometres of bus corridor would be finished in December.

    He said that the new bus service would give Lahore public transport of an international standard. He said that the project would be particularly useful to the disabled, senior citizens and women. He said that highly trained staff would operate the bus service and ticketing would be completely automated. He thanked Turkey for assisting the Punjab government with the solid waste management and bus projects.

    At an earlier luncheon hosted by the chief minister, Topbas announced a gift of 100 buses for Lahore and pledged Turkish help to the Punjab government in any sector. The chief minister thanked the mayor for the buses and called Turkey a role model for Pakistan.

    At the school foundation stone ceremony, the chairman of Pak-Turk International Schools and Colleges said that the new girls campus would have the capacity for 900 students. He said that the foundation was educating more than 5,000 children in 18 schools in Pakistan. He thanked the chief minister for providing land for the campus.

    Topbas also inaugurated the renamed Kadir Topbas Chowk on Raiwind Road near Valencia Town, where a 40-feet tall replica of Istanbul’s famous Blue Mosque is being built. The monument is being renamed after the mayor in view of his active role in promoting Pak-Turk ties.

    Earlier, the mayor and his wife Ozleyis Topbas and their entourage visited historical sites in Lahore. They laid a wreath at the tomb of Allama Iqbal and a Rangers contingent presented them a guard of honour. They also visited the Badshahi Masjid.

    Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2012.

    via Pak-Turk friendship: Istanbul mayor gives 100 buses for Lahore – The Express Tribune.

  • Istanbul mayor arrives to warm welcome

    Istanbul mayor arrives to warm welcome

    Inaugurates new waste management system, hails Lahore as second home.

    LAHORE:

    The Mayor of Istanbul Dr Kadir Tobpas was given a warm welcome here on Sunday as he arrived for a two-day visit to inaugurate waste management and bus transport projects that are being conducted in collaboration with Turkish companies.

    Addressing the inauguration ceremony for the new solid waste management system at the Town Hall, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that he hoped that the new system would revive Lahore’s beauty and that it could later be introduced in other cities

    He said that the same model would be replicated in Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Multan, Peshawar and Karachi and scores of clean cities like Istanbul would emerge in Pakistan.

    Dr Tobpas said that the project would give Lahore a clean environment and a healthy atmosphere. He said that the projects with the Punjab government were not commercial ventures but aimed at serving the Pakistani people. That was why the Turkish companies had reduced the cost of the project, he said.

    He said that Istanbul produces 15,000 tonnes of garbage a day which it recycles or uses to produce electricity. He said that Istanbul was cleaner than New York.

    Dr Tophas drove a cleaning truck, with the chief minister in the passenger seat, after cutting a ribbon to inaugurate the project. He earlier also inaugurated a monument at Istanbul Chowk in front of Town Hall, and is to inaugurate the Bus Rapid Transit system as well as a replica of the Blue Mosque dome in Valencia Town.

    The chief minister said that this was the first comprehensive solid waste management project in Pakistan. He said Lahore produced more than 5,000 tonnes of garbage every day.

    Sharif said that during his first term as chief minister in 1998, he had made plans with a French company for a solid waste management system, but his government was toppled and the project was shelved.

    He said that he was pleased to see this project inaugurated 13 years later with the cooperation of the brotherly Islamic country of Turkey. He said that Pakistan and Turkey had forged strong bonds and that was why the Turkish companies involved in the project had reduced their costs. He said that when they had conducted a survey in Lahore 18 months ago of the facilities needed, they had charged the government a tenth of what they would normally charge on international tenders.

    Earlier, the Istanbul mayor was welcomed upon his arrival at the airport by the chief minister. Sharif said that the visit would promote trade as well as brotherly relations between the two countries. Dr Topbas said Pakistan was his second home and he was very pleased to be in Lahore.

    A Punjab Police contingent presented a guard of honour to Dr Topbas at the airport. The national anthems of Turkey and Pakistan were played while people shouted slogans for Pak-Turk friendship. The government brought in 225 folk dancers from Jhang to perform at 14 different points along the route.

    Portraits of the president and prime minister of Turkey, the mayor of Istanbul, Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif were displayed on main roads all over the city.

    The mayor also visited a special exhibition on Turkey arranged by the Information and Culture Departments at the Lahore Museum. Members of the Turkish media in his entourage went on a shopping trip to Neela Gumbad and Anarkali.

    Published in The Express Tribune, March 12th, 2012.

    via Diplomatic relations: Istanbul mayor arrives to warm welcome – The Express Tribune.

  • FORMER WORLD BANKER WOLFENSOHN MAKES STUNNING CONFESSION

    FORMER WORLD BANKER WOLFENSOHN MAKES STUNNING CONFESSION

    WOLFENSOHNTHE VIDEO EVERYONE NEEDS TO SEE, BUT FOR DIFFERENT REASONS… THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD BANK, JAMES WOLFENSOHN, MAKES STUNNING CONFESSIONS AS HE ADDRESSES GRADUATE STUDENTS AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY. HE REVEALS THE INSIDE HAND OF WORLD DOMINATION FROM PAST, TO THE PRESENT AND INTO THE FUTURE. THE SPEECH WAS MAS MADE JANUARY 11TH, 2010. THE NEXT 19 MINUTES MAY OPEN YOUR MIND TO A VERY DELIBERATE WORLD.

    HE TELLS THE GRAD STUDENTS WHAT’S COMING, A “TECTONIC SHIFT” IN WEALTH FROM THE WEST TO THE EAST. BUT HE DOESN’T TELL THE STUDENTS THAT IT IS HIS INSTITUTION, THE WORLD BANK, THAT’S DIRECTING AND CHANNELING THESE CHANGES.

    WOLFENSOHN’S OWN INVESTMENT FIRM IS IN CHINA, POISED TO PROFIT FROM THIS “IMMINENT SHIFT” IN GLOBAL WEALTH.

  • Iran paid through Turkey for oil sales to India

    Iran paid through Turkey for oil sales to India

    By

    AFP

    Published Saturday, January 21, 2012

    Iran is being paid for oil sales to India through a Turkish bank, the managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company said Friday on Mehr news agency.

    “There is no problem with exports to India and money continues to be transferred through a Turkish bank,” said Mohsen Ghamsari.

    That bank, however, has warned Iranian authorities that it will not take on new clients making money transfers to pay for Iran’s oil exports, Ghamsari was quoted as saying.

    India, which buys about 400,000 barrels per day from Iran, had expressed concern that this channel could no longer be used to make payments.

    Ghamsari said that “part of the money owed to Iran by India was transferred through Turkey” after noting that the Iranian central bank also had “other channels” to receive its oil revenues.

    India announced on Tuesday it would continue buying Iranian oil despite mounting US and EU pressure on the Islamic republic’s clients to limit their purchases as long as Iran pursues its controversial nuclear programme.

    Iran is India’s second-largest oil supplier after Saudi Arabia, providing around 12 percent of the fast-growing country’s needs at an annual cost of around ê12 billion.

    China, another major client, has also rejected Western sanctions on Iran, while Japan and South Korea have expressed reservations over the consequences such sanctions could have on their economies.

    Turkey, which opposes unilateral sanctions against Iran, is also a major client, purchasing gas in addition to oil. Iranian exports to Turkey, mostly from its energy sector, were worth over 12 billion dollars in 2011, according to Iran’s media.

    This week, during a visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi to Turkey, the two countries said they plan to boost annual trade to 30 billion dollars by 2015.

    The West fears Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb. Tehran insists its nuclear programme is purely for civilian use and refuses to abandon its uranium enrichment activities despite four sets of UN sanctions.

    via Iran paid through Turkey for oil sales to India – Emirates 24/7.

  • Turkey wants more tourism, cultural exchanges with India

    Turkey wants more tourism, cultural exchanges with India

    New Delhi, Jan 9 (IANS) Stating that India has strong relations with Turkey, Turkish ambassador Burak Akcapar Monday said tourism and cultural exchanges between the two countries need to be boosted.

    ‘Our countries have had strong bilateral relations for a long time but the tourism and cultural exchange between the two countries needs to be boosted,’ said Akcapar at an event organised by the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) to announce the Indian Travel Congress being held at Istanbul March 11-13.

    The year 2011 marked the diamond jubilee of India’s cultural ties with Turkey.

    ‘Turkey offers many opportunities for the Indian tourist,’ said Akcapar, adding ‘it presents a unique amalgamation of East and the West’.

    ‘Turkey is an attractive tourist destination which provides everything that Indians look for in an overseas travel experience but it is not very popular here. Our conference will help boost Turkish tourism,’ said TAAI general secretary Sunil Kumar R.

    Around 50 tour operators from Turkey and neighbouring countries are expected to attend the conference.

    ©Indo-Asian News Service

  • Visit to Turkey opened new avenues of cooperation: Shahbaz

    Visit to Turkey opened new avenues of cooperation: Shahbaz

    LAHORE: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that service to the masses is a form of worship and a comprehensive programme of public welfare and rapid development of the province is being pursued.

    Talking to the MPAs belonging to various districts here on Sunday, he said protection of life and property was the foremost priority of the Punjab government and all possible steps would be taken for further improving law and order in the province.

    Shahbaz said every effort was directed towards the progress of the country and it would put on the road to prosperity after being taken out of the current crises under the leadership of PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif. He said corruption had shaken the foundations of the country and every person would have to play his role for purging the society of the menace. He said merit, good governance and transparency had been promoted in the province and the development projects of present era were unprecedented regarding quality and transparency.

    The chief minister said the transparent utilisation of every penny of the public money was being ensured and all resources were being utilized for the public welfare. He said the credit for materialising the dream of labourers, farmers, widows, martyrs and a common man of having their own shelter went to the PML-N, which, for the first time in the history of the country, had provided facilities to the poor in Ashiana Housing Scheme more than the residential schemes of the elite.

    Shahbaz said steps were being taken for the provision of quality and comfortable transport facilities to the people. He said that after the provincial metropolis, a plan had also been made for extending the scope of Ashiana scheme to other big cities of the province.

    Mentioning his visit to Turkey, Shahbaz said that besides accelerating the pace of implementation on various agreements, his visit had also helped seek new avenues of cooperation with Turkey in other sectors. He said the way Turkey had made progress rapidly and had become a strong economic force was a role model for Pakistan, adding that we could also put our country on the road to progress by working hard.

    The CM said Allah had given rich resources to Pakistan and we could not only achieve self-reliance by developing them but also get rid the menace of charity of foreingers. He stressed upon the elected representatives to spare no effort for ensuring transparent and timely completion of welfare projects.

    via Visit to Turkey opened new avenues of cooperation: Shahbaz.