By Punjabnewswire4u.blogspot.com
LUDHIANA, DEC 14
Punjab relations are set to reach a new high with Chief
Ministers of both Indian and Pakistan Punjab – Mr. Parkash Singh Badal and Mian
Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif agreeing to sign a protocol agreement to identify
mutual areas of interest and cooperation tomorrow.
A high level committee of officers and Vice Chancellors
of Punjab Agriculture University Ludhiana and Faislabaad besides Guru Angad Dev
Veterinary Sciences University has been constituted by both Chief Ministers to
finalize the terms and conditions of agreement.
Mr. Sharif mooted the proposal of a protocol agreement
during deliberations held at the Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) here to
which Mr. Parkash Singh Badal responded positively. Both governments agreed to
encourage people to people contact as part of this protocol exercise besides
cooperating with each other in agriculture, animal husbandry, agro processing
and industrial & trade ventures.
The Pakistan Punjab Chief Minister also appreciated the
unique initiative taken by the Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal,
who led a delegation to Pakistan to strengthen bilateral ties between East and
West Punjab and suggested similar delegations should frequently visit both
sides to further explore the untapped potential in industry, agriculture,
agro-processing, textile and infra structure.
Bemoaning the geographical barriers as impediment to
overall development and prosperity in the region and a potent cause which have
separated both the countries and its people, Mr. Sharif in an emotionally
surcharged tone said, “Demolish all the walls which hinders the prosperity and
progress of both the states”. He said that both the Punjabs’ should learn from
the countries of the European Union, who had guillotined the people in past,
have now joined hands to usher progress in their respective countries despite
of the fact that they have hardly have anything in common. Mr. Sharif said that
on the contrary Punjabis have almost everything in common so the need of the
hour was to identify the area of friendliness and peace to herald a new era of
unprecedented development across the border. He said unlike EU we share a
common heritage having natural bonding of language, culture and cuisine
moreover we were permanent neighbours and thus it was all the more important to
generate bonhomie amongst the people of both the countries through people to
people contact to further consolidate the confidence building exercise between
both the nations. “In the past we have moved slowly towards this goal but it
was the time to run so that an atmosphere of warmth and affection in the region
could be created” he added.
Lauding the Chief Minister for his unflinching commitment
to provide free power to the farmers of eastern Punjab at a cost of Rs 6000
crore, Mr. Sharif said that this was a laudable step to motivate the farmers of
the region for making the country self reliant in food production. The West
Punjab Chief Minister said that though he had tried his level best but he was
not able to implement the same decision in his own state. Mr. Sharif also
lauded the path breaking initiatives taken by the SAD-BJP government to
introduce Governance Reforms, Right To service Act, Computerization of land
records and other citizen centric steps that have benefitted the common person.
He envisioned better support and cooperation between both the countries to
boost up Agricultural and allied activities across the border so as to benefit
both the states. Mr. Sharif also endorsed the proposal mooted by VC PAU Dr BS
Dhillon to initiate joint research efforts on the land across both sides of
international border so that the farmers of East and West Punjab could share
their vast experience and expertise with each other by adopting modern farm
practices to enhance productivity.
Taking part in deliberations, the Punjab Chief Minister
Mr. Parkash Singh Badal said that these visits should not be mere formalities
but they should be result oriented so as to benefit the entire region. Mr.
Badal said that this initiative of fostering better ties between India and
Pakistan should have been taken earlier as it could have helped in heralding a
new era of unprecedented development across the border. Batting strongly for
relaxing the VISA regime between both the countries, he said that it would help
in free movement of the people from both the sides of border, which was direly
needed in the current scenario to strengthen the bonds of love and brotherhood
between both the countries.
The Chief Minister lamented that despite of the fact that
both the countries share rich bond of language, cuisine and culture, they have
been pushed apart due to the partition of the country. He said that the time
was ripe that both the state governments and federal governments of India and
Pakistan should make all out efforts for reducing the distance between both the
countries. Mr. Badal expressed hope that the visit by West Punjab Chief
Minister would go a long way not only in improving the relations between both
the countries but would prove immensely beneficial for the Punjabis, across the
border besides scripting a new chapter to further improve the bilateral ties.
The Chief Minister, while underlining the need for
enhancing people to people contact between both the states, said that frequent
visits of official delegations along with that of the farmers, artistes and
other eminent personalities from all walks of life could play a pivotal role in
it. He said that efforts must be made by both the state governments of East and
West Punjab to impress upon their respective national governments to make stupendous
efforts for removing all the barriers that hinder the development of love,
friendship and affection between both the nations.
Earlier in his address, the Deputy Chief Minister Mr.
Sukhbir Singh Badal welcomed Mr. Sharif to the state and showered praise on him
for focusing on improving the relations between both the countries. Mr. Sukhbir
Singh Badal apprised the West Punjab Chief Minister about the rich legacy of
the PAU and said that what Punjab was today was just because of this premier
agriculture university. He said that PAU is mother of Green Revolution in the
country adding that due to the extensive research of PAU the state’s farmer has
been able to make the country self reliant in food production. The Deputy Chief
Minister also informed Mr. Sharif about the slew of governance reforms
initiated by the state government to provide quality services to the people.
Prominent amongst those present on the occasion included
Cabinet Ministers Mr. Bikram Singh Majithia and Mr. Sharanjeet Singh Dhillon,
Advisor to Chief Minister on Media and National Affairs Mr. Harcharan Bains,
Advisor to Chief Minister Mr. Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal, Media Advisor to
Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Jangveer Singh, Financial Commissioner Revenue Mr. NS
Kang, Financial Commissioner Development Mr. Suresh Kumar, Principal Secretary
to Chief Minister Mr. SK Sandhu, Financial Commissioner Animal Husbandry Mr. G
Vajralingam, Commissioner Right to Service Commission Mr. Iqbal Singh, Vice
Chancellor PAU and GADVASU Dr. BS Dhillon and Dr. VK Taneja respectively.
The Pakistan delegation included Education Minister Rana
Mohammed Khan, High Commissioner Pakistan High Commission in India Mr. Salman
Bashir and others.
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