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Consul General Mr. Abdul Majid Yousfani

A large number of Australian Pakistanis attended Pakistan Day Celebrations in Sydney

The Pakistan Day celebrations were organized by the Consulate General of Pakistan on 23-24 March 2018. This year’s celebration comprised of three events; Reception, Sculpture Show and Film Screening. During the celebrations, “Emerging Pakistan” brand was launched. The Pakistan Day reception consisted of a Flag Hoisting Ceremony followed by the reading out of the messages of the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan.

MC Bushra Salam

Later, the Consul General, Mr. Abdul Majid Yousfani addressed the audience. The Consul of Pakistan Consulate Sydney, Bushra Salam was the Master of Ceremony .

Messages from the President and the Prime Minister of Pakistan emphasized the unity of the Nation and the sacrifices rendered by many of our people due to which Pakistan came to existence.
The Consul General of Pakistan on this occasion informed the proud journey of Pakistan that has come a long way from a humble beginning in 1947. He said that people of Pakistan and Australia share common values of democracy, liberty, justice, and rule of law, highlighting brief historic facts of Australia and Pakistan which showed that these two countries have a military alliance which traces back to early twentieth century, and the arrival of the Cameleers in the nineteenth century. He expressed conviction that the two countries will work together to further deepen their old ties.

Mr. Abdul Majid Yousfani highlighted that the Pakistani economy had already crossed $1 trillion mark on the purchasing power parity scale. Given the current and expected level of inward investment, growth in the exports and consumer confidence, it is expected that the economy will continue to grow in the future providing new avenues for business and investment.
The event was attended by the Diaspora and Australian friends of Pakistan. The audience also enjoyed Pakistani breakfast and performance by Mr. Waseem Shah.

Transcript of the speech of Consul General, Mr. Abdul Majid Yousfani
 

السلام عليكم Ladies and gentlemen
I am delighted to welcome you today to celebrate Pakistan Day in Sydney.

We have are here to not only commemorate and celebrate but to express our respect, reverence and recognition to admit and acknowledge the role of the leaders of the Pakistan Movement and the sacrifices that our forefathers paid to achieve a homeland for us.

Pakistan Day is an occasion that reminds us of the vision of our leaders and creates vibes among the young and the old equally to uphold the noble ideals which were set by the architects of the Pakistan Resolution. The adoption of the Resolution on 23rd March 1940 was reflective of the dream for a separate homeland where everyone would live in peace and prosperity on the basis of equity and fairness. The Resolution particularly called for adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards in the constitution of the country for minorities in order to ensure the protection of their rights. It also authorized a Working Committee to frame a constitution in accordance with the basic principles and paved the way for a formal and firm demand for the creation of Pakistan.

While celebrating this Day with special enthusiasm and fervour, we should also reflect upon our achievements and failures and pledge to struggle to overcome the challenges faced by us with unity, sincerity and integrity. On this occasion, we are organizing a "Reception”, a “Sculpture Show” and “Film Festival” to pay tributes to those who struggled for the creation of Pakistan.

Pakistan is our origin, identity and pride in this land and rest of the world. Regardless of whether you emigrate, naturalize and acquire Australian citizenship but your heart will always beat with Pakistan and with your relatives and childhood friends.

I am delighted to see that Pakistanis form an important segment of the society in Australia. I feel happy to find that you have contributed to all spheres of Australian life: be it agriculture, medical sciences, engineering, finance, education, research, sports, business or politics. Most of the Pakistanis and their next generation have made a great mark in the public and private sectors of Australia. I am pleased to find that your contribution to the Australian society is equally accepted and acknowledged by the Government and the corporate sectors. I hope and pray that you will continue to excel in all fields and be recognized in this society.
 

My dear friends and fellows:
It is interesting to note that Pakistanis have been contributing to the Australian society, culture and economy ever since the continent’s colonization by the British who brought Cameleers from the region which forms a part of Pakistan. The Cameleers played a pivotal role in building the train tracks across Australia making the colonization of the Continent a success. “The Ghan”, which is regarded as one of the world’s greatest rail journeys, pays homage to these cameleers.

It is interesting to note that the officers of the Australian military received their training in the Command and Staff College, Quetta. The first trainee Capt. Eric Harrison (later retired as a Brigadier) attended the staff course during 1910-11 followed by Sir Thomas Albert Blamey (1912-13) who fought the first and the second world wars and rose to the rank of Field Marshall in Australia.

My dear Pakistanis:
We have to publicize and promote our work and our sacrifices for a peaceful world. May I take this opportunity to highlight that Pakistan is a victim of terrorism. We have lost over 75,000 people in this war against terror during the last 13 years. On account of this war on terror, our loss of property and foregone economic opportunities has been estimated at about 123 billion US dollars. Let me highlight that the Government of Pakistan is committed to continue to take efforts to eradicate the menace of terrorism from the land of the pure.

We, as a community in this land, should make efforts to bring about improvement in the image of Pakistan as people who love and promote peace not only in their own country and neighbourhood but also to the rest of the world. We must work hard by being law abiding citizens and use our energies to project our image in this society as promoters of peace. May Allah provide us the capacity and courage to carry out this task!

Let me assure you that the Consulate General has been providing you support and will continue to support you in your efforts for promotion of the soft image of our country.
My dear countrymen:

While doing all this, I urge you not to forget those who are less fortunate. You must look forward to help less fortunate people in Pakistan and Australia equally as they need your assistance and support.

I like to highlight some of the achievements for promotion of the soft image of our country:
i. During the month of March last year, we participated in the Multicultural event called Parramasala. Our first ever participation in this event consisted of “Community Parade”, “Singing performances”, “Cooking Show” and “Truck Art”.
ii. This year, we participated in the “Moving Forward” Multicultural festival organized by the Black Town Council to celebrate the Mother Language Day.
iii. We also participated in the Fashions of Multicultural Australia. A renowned Pakistani fashion designer “Mrs. Kausar Sajid” presented her profile during the show which was highly appreciated.
iv. “Peace and Harmony” an exhibition of Jimmy Engineer was held at the Art Space on “The Concourse” featuring a number of limited edition canvas prints, each image portraying his quest for peace and harmony. The exhibition was inaugurated by Mayor Gail Giles-Gidney, was largely attended by the Australians and Pakistanis.
On the economic front, we have been able to participate in the Trade Fairs held in Sydney and Melbourne. Pakistani products and IT services were placed on display in the “International Sourcing Expo”, “Beauty Expo”, “Fine Food Australia” and “CeBIT Expo”. We facilitated Pakistani companies participating in these exhibitions and arranged B2B meetings for them during these events. The Consulate General also took a trade delegation comprising of 19 delegates to attend the “Expo Pakistan” held in November last year.
I am delighted to let you know that the total bilateral trade volume is reported to be AUD 1,934 million and has grown by 18.9% during FY 2016-17.

We are continuously updating and upgrading the facilities and services for our community. We have enhanced our security through CCTV System. We have also introduced a 24x7 emergency help line and facilitation. We have repatriated the human remains of Pakistani students who died in accidents and provided of help and support to the stranded Pakistanis in Australia.
We have designed a new website for the Consulate General which is customer centric. The new website is user friendly, accessible on smart phones, contains online application forms and possess useful information for trade, tourism and investment promotion. We are determined to provide you better consular, community and trade services.

On the economic front in Pakistan, China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is bringing an investment of around 52 billion USD in the construction, energy and other sectors of the economy. CPEC will enhance infrastructure, bridge energy gap and enable a chain reaction to provide strength to our economy and a capacity to continue to attract business and investment leading to development. It is heartening to note that the first containerized cargo vessel was docked and it discharged cargo at the “Gwadar” International Terminal on 7th March 2018.

Before I conclude, I thank everyone who supported, facilitated and participated in planning, organizing and making this event a success. I cannot conclude without mentioning some of the most important people:
1. Staff of the Consulate General Pakistan Sydney.
2. Team of volunteers who provided continuous support and encouragement.
3. All those who are attending this event.
4. The support provided by my family, requires special mention, especially my wife who has demonstrated her active association, invaluable involvement, precious patience and sustained support for all events for promotion of Pakistan.

I would like to thank you all for sparing time to be with us for the Pakistan Day Celebrations. Please do not forget to enjoy the breakfast hosted by the Consulate General in the honour of all Pakistanis residing in Sydney and around.

May Allah provide us the courage and direct us to right path to realize the objectives of the creation of Pakistan and strengthen our country and protect it from external threats.

I wish you a very happy Pakistan Day and to our community living in Australia.

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