Punjab News/Eastern and Western Punjab to sign protocol agreement in varied fields

Ludhiana, December 14, 2013: Punjab relations are set to reach a new high with Chief Ministers of both Indian and Pakistan Punjab –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.
Sharif mooted the proposal of a protocol agreement during deliberations held at the Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) here to which 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 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, 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. 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, 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. Sharif also lauded the path breaking initiatives taken by the SAD-BJP government to introduce Governance Reforms, Right To service Act, Computerisation 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. 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 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. 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. 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 Sukhbir Singh Badal welcomed Sharif to the state and showered praise on him for focusing on improving the relations between both the countries. 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 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 Bikram Singh Majithia and Sharanjeet Singh Dhillon, Advisor to Chief Minister on Media and National Affairs Harcharan Bains, Advisor to Chief Minister Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal, Media Advisor to Deputy Chief Minister Jangveer Singh, Financial Commissioner Revenue NS Kang, Financial Commissioner Development Suresh Kumar, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister SK Sandhu, Financial Commissioner Animal Husbandry G Vajralingam, Commissioner Right to Service Commission 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 Salman Bashir and others. / punjab news live, punjab news online, punjab news, punjab news headlines, punjab breaking news, india news, punjab news