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EMERGING PAKISTAN February 2019 NEWSLETTER Volume 3 Issue 2 EMBASSY OF PAKISTAN BRUSSELS In this issue Prime Minister Visits Turkey P.2-3 President UNGA Visits Pakistan P.4 CJCSC Attends NATO Meeting P.5 Sneessen’s Exhibition on Hunza P.6-7 CM Balochistan Participates in WEF P.8 Bio-Bus Project in Karachi P.9 Atletico’s Academy in Pakistan P.10 International Skiing in Pakistan P. 11 Supreme Court of Pakistan & Prime Minister’s Fund For Building Dams in Pakistan P. 12 Prime Minister Imran Khan Visits Turkey The Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Imran Khan travelled to Turkey on a two-day official visit onth 4 to 5th of January. During his visit the Prime Minister said it was high time that Pakistan and Turkey took their bilateral trade to a high level, citing Pakistan's ideal geo-strategic location and its huge potential for investment in infrastructure and tourism. He was accompanied by a high level delegation. Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a tete-a-tete meeting followed by delegation level talks on 4th January. Having exchanged views on the entire spectrum of Turkey - Pakistan bilateral relationship as well as on issues of regional and international importance, the leaders of the two countries, re-affirmed that the unparalleled fraternal relations between the peoples and the govern- ments of the two countries date back for centuries and are embedded in a common cultural and religious heritage, as well as a shared vision for the future, based on complete mutual understanding and trust. “As Pakistan was undertaking huge connectivity projects under Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the issue of huge distance impeding Pak-Turkish trade would be resolved” said Prime Minister Khan. 2 Pakistan and Turkey to Develop Joint Economic Strategic Frame Work Addressing a joint news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on 4th January Prime Minister Khan said Pakistan wants to learn from Turkey's experience in housing, health, and education sectors for the benefit of common people. President Erdogan and Prime Minister Imran Khan agreed to develop a joint economic strategic framework. This five year Framework would identify potential areas of economic and trade interests to the two countries, identify obstacles in the way of enhanced trade and investment and remove obstacles, so that the economic relationship reflects the extremely close strategic and historic ties between the two countries. Turkish Vice President Fuad Ouktay and Finance Minister Asad Umer will meet soon to finalize the agreement which will be signed at the next Summit meeting of the Pakistan Turkey High Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting to be held in the first half of this year in Pakistan. 3 President UN General Assembly Visits Pakistan President of UN General Assembly, Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa called on President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister of Pakistan Mr Imran Khan in Islamabad on 18th January 2019. President of UN General Assembly, Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa, visited Pakistan on five days official visit from 18th to 22nd January 2019. She met with the President, Prime Minister and Foreign Minis- ter of Pakistan. In her meeting with Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi the two dignitaries discussed a range of issues in- cluding recent trends and developments at the global and regional lev- els. Both agreed that the United Nations remained an indispensable institution for advancing dialogue, cooperation and pursuing collective solutions to global challenges. The Foreign Minister briefed Ms. Espinosa and conveyed Pakistan's deep concern over the systematic human rights abuses in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, while underscoring the need for the United Nations to ensure implementation of Security Council resolu- tions. The two sides had useful discussions on the on-going process of UN Security Council reform and the need for this process to be led by Member States and consensus-based way forward. This was her first visit to a country in the Asia-Pacific region after her election as UNGA president in September 2018. Apart from official engagements, the President of the General Assembly also met members of the Women Parliamentary Caucus, Chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme, and visited Pakistan's Peacekeeping Training Center. She also addressed members of academia, think tanks and students during her visit. 4 Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Attends NATO Military Committee Meeting Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Zubair Mahmood Hayat attended the 180th NATO Military Committee meeting in Brussels on 16th January. The meeting focused on peace and securi- ty matters with special focus on Middle East and Afghanistan. During the meeting, JCSC chief shared Pakistan’s contributions and efforts to- wards regional peace and stability, especially in Afghanistan. On the sidelines, Gen Hayat also held meetings with United States Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph F Dunford, Chairman of the European Union Military Committee General Claudio Graziano and Chief of General Staff Turkish Armed Forces. Ambassador Hashmi Hosts Dinner for CJCSC NATO and EEAS Officials 5 Exhibition of Photographs on Hunza By Benoit Sneessens HUNZA: An exhibition of photo- graphs by Belgian photographer Benoit Sneessens took place in Ateliers des FUCAM, in the city of Mons in Belgium from 11th January to 3rd February. Benoit Sneessens visited Pakistan six times between 2006 to 2009 and re-visted after a gap of 8 years in 2017. He covered hundreds of kilometres on foot on the steep paths of the Karakoram Mountains. The exhibition covers mythical valleys in northern Pakistan, its vast landscapes and its proud mountain populations. Sneessens started going to Pakistan in 2006 when he was a student of Photography at Namur and needed photographs for his project. Fascinated by the mountains from his childhood he decided to go to capture beauty and culture in Himalyas and choose Pakistan when he came to know that Himalayas originated from this country. He found Pakistan safe and friendly country. “I never felt insecure as nobody ever tried to harm me. Now the country has become even more secure. With the CEPEC, now you see police cars patrol at Kara- karam and other highways regularly”, says Sneessens. He never found himself alone in Pakistan, as he was always surrounded by people, who would talk to him, guide him, offer tea and food to him. Along with spectacular scenic beauty he enjoyed warmth of Pakistani People and wishes if more people could visit the country to connect with the human side. ”In fact I experienced cultural shock when I came back to Belgium.” 6 Sneessens : “I always felt safe in Pakistan” Benoit Sneessens explains context and details of photographs of Hunza to the visitors at the exhibition in Mons, Belgium. This project of Mr Sneessens was focused on winter migrations in Hunza and surrounding valleys. His photographs are comprised of landscapes, people and their animals particularly yaks and goats. He photographed valleys and villages around Karakorram Highway in- cluding Shamshaal, Chapursan, passu and Sost. He also visited cities of Pakistan including Lahore, Karachi and the capital, Islamabad. He enjoyed Pakistani culture and cuisines, Chicken Tikka and Peshawari Naan being his favourite food. Sneessens is interested in completing his photographic project of old architectural heritage of Pakistan. He has taken some photographs of old buildings but the project is not complete yet. Sneessens is also concerned with preservation of envi- ronment of the scenic valleys of Pakistan as he has observed that natu- ral places are being littered by irresponsible tourists, which he says must be addressed appropriately. 7 CM Balochistan Participates in World Economic Forum Leaders from South _Western province of Pakistan, Balochistan have offered the global elites to invest in the deep seaport of Gwadar and mines and mineral sectors of the province which, they believe, has the potential to bring prosperity to the whole region. Balochistan Chief Minister CM) Jam Kamal and Quetta Corps Commander Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa highlighted the future economic prospects of the strategically located province at the traditional Pakistan Dinner arranged by the Pathfinder Group on the side- lines of Annual World Economic Forum on 23rd January. Balochistan CM said the province is abundant with natural resources and now it can bring prosperity to the region also. He said China Pakistan Eco- nomic Corridor can really bring up new business ventures from economi- cally growing China. Other countries are also showing interests in the pro- ject. Kamal assured that the foreign investors will be facilitated, and prom- ised them good governance and transparent systems.“Balochistan govern- ment will be accountable to its people,” he said. The Chief Minister further said Reko Diq is open for foreign investment. The 700 kilometers coastal line is also open for tourism and transshipment facilities. He said both the federal and provincial governments have huge responsibilities to turn around Balochistan. The success of Pakistan’s econ- omy depends very much on Balochistan and it is very important that both the governments come up with investment friendly opportunities for peo- ple. The Corps Commander said the province offers unique economic opportuni- ties. There was also collaboration between the civil and military leader- ships to take Balochistan forward, he added. He said Balochistan remained victim of terrorism because of turbulence from across the border. Pakistan ultimately realised that it had to manage its own borders and started constructing fence on border with Afghanistan. The border is becoming stable and Pakistan is constructing a five-kilometre-long fence every day to fully fence the border by end of this year. 8 Pakistan To Use Cow Poo to Power Buses In a bid to freshen its air and cut planet-warming emissions, the Pakistani port city of Karachi will introduce cleaner cow poo powered buses.