When will Sindh and Punjab become sister states of New York?

Phil Ramos, the Deputy Speaker of the US State of New York, has assured that the resolution to make Sindh and Punjab a sister state of New York will be approved by the New York Assembly in January next year.


As an official guest, Phil Ramos was on a four-day visit to Pakistan. During this time, he met federal and provincial ministers, senators, governors, businessmen, students and others of the caretaker government and later announced that the Sister State resolution was passed in January. will be done.


Along with Phil Ramos on the visit were board members of the American Pakistani Public Affairs Committee who hold extraordinary positions professionally and are active in the betterment of American Pakistanis.



From the beginning of April, APPEC is also trying to establish a sister state link of Punjab and Sindh with New York.


I gave the idea of ​​Sisterstate to APPEC Chairman Dr. Ijaz Ahmed and Sindh Governor Muhammad Kamran Khan Tesori.


Due to the leadership role of Phil Ramos, Kamran Tesori and Senator Ishaq Dar and the continuous efforts of New York-based cardiologist Dr. Ijaz Ahmed and his colleagues, continuous progress has been made during these 8 months.


Unfortunately, Phil Ramos, who was supposed to come to Pakistan on October 28, arrived on November 4 due to some unavoidable reasons. This is the reason why Sindh Governor Kamran Tesori could not host Phil Ramos due to his scheduled engagements in America and Chief Minister Punjab. Mohsin Naqvi could not be found either.


The delegation led by Phil Ramos reached Lahore on November 4. First, the delegation met with Senator Waleed Iqbal, who is the head of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights.


Senator Iqbal, a graduate of Harvard Law School, stressed on free and transparent elections and said that the world should ensure that the roots of democracy in Pakistan are strong. Phil explained that the purpose of his visit was to enhance public relations.


Phil Ramos later visited the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry where he was invited by LCCI Senior Vice President Zafar Mahmood.



Addressing the business community, Phil Ramos said that he will make every effort to open the doors of New York for Pakistani businessmen. He said that there are vast opportunities in New York for entrepreneurs associated with small and medium industries.


The Deputy Mayor of New York also visited the historical places in Lahore. He was impressed by the architectural masterpieces and craftsmanship. Phil also enjoyed the rickshaw ride.


In honor of the guest, the Federal Minister for Commerce and Industries Dr. Gohar Ejaz hosted a dinner in which eminent industrialists of the country were also invited. Dr. Gohar Ejaz himself is also counted among the foremost industrialists and selfless personalities of the country.


During the discussion, the industrialists mentioned the factors on the basis of which the import of Pakistani goods to New York can be increased. It was also agreed to form committees to remove obstacles in this matter. Phil assured that the political leadership will play its best role in paving the way for trade.


A few days before the visit of Phil Ramos, there was a new wave of terrorism in the country, however, declaring Pakistan a safe country, Phil Ramos visited Gujranwala by road, where he addressed an event in which former Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan was also present. .


 Phil later visited an under-construction hospital and medical college and while talking to the media said that there is a severe shortage of staff including nurses in New York while Pakistani nurses and other medical staff are fully qualified to fill this shortage.


Phil Ramos is also right in the sense that during the last few years, people from western countries are coming to Pakistan and getting relatively cheaper treatment.


The Deputy Speaker later left for Islamabad via Motorway. Near Pindi Bhattian, he saw several trucks overturned due to an accident in which many people were injured.


A few hours later, Phil Ramos had a meeting with Federal Health Minister Dr. Nadeem Jan, who was also accompanied by Health Secretary Iftikhar Shalwani. Phil Ramos announced free nebulizers to hospitals in Punjab, while Dr. Nadeem Jan said that if the Americans build a trauma center on the Pakistani highway, the Pakistani government is also ready to provide them with land.


Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman gave dinner to Phil Ramos. He himself is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and thoroughly familiar with the Sistrastat project.


Balighur Rehman said that this relationship will help bring the two nations closer. He also invited Phil Ramos to visit Punjab once again after the next election.


Phil Ramos is suffering from heart disease and despite his health problems he came to visit Pakistan.


Senator Mushahid Hussain was already aware of this. He gave a warm welcome to Phil Ramos at the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services and vowed to strengthen Pakistan-US relations by shaking hands with the Deputy Speaker.


Phil Ramos also had a brief meeting with the Federal Minister of Information Murtaza Solangi in which they discussed about removing misconceptions about Pakistan in America.


Secretary Aviation Saif Anjum raised the issue of direct flights of the national airline to New York in a meeting with Phil Ramos. He told how difficult it is for the young, old and sick people to travel to America by taking two to three flights. Phil Ramos said he would look into the matter.


Senator Ishaq Dar, who has met Phil Ramos on Zoom, invited the Deputy Speaker to his chamber in Parliament.


Phil Ramos met with Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani at the highest level. Appreciating the sister state project, the foreign minister said that "Pakistan wants to strengthen economic and strategic relations with the United States". He expressed hope that Phil's visit would help progress in this direction.


Phil Ramos said that various MoUs will be prepared through staff-level contacts to move forward on a solid basis. He expressed confidence that this will bring US capital to Pakistan and the US will also benefit from this relationship. Will be.


At the end of the tour, Phil Ramos reached Karachi where he remained engaged until late at night. He directly reached the Institute of Business Administration from the airport where he met the students and spoke to Executive Director IBAS Akbar Zaidi on enhancing cooperation between educational institutions.


Phil Ramos also met a delegation of students of Sindh Madrasah al-Islam, the educational institution of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and said that he would take steps to increase the communication between the educational institutions of New York and Sindh.


The Deputy Mayor of New York met Sindh Caretaker Chief Minister Justice Retired Maqbool Baqir and members of the cabinet at the Chief Minister House. Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab was also present on this occasion.


The Caretaker Chief Minister expressed the expectation that new avenues of cooperation will open up in the sister state relationship of Sindh and New York. While Murtaza Wahab suggested that New York City and Karachi should be given the status of sister cities. Phil Ramos expected that the elected Sindh government would also approve the sister state resolution from the assembly.


Senator Farooq Naik, who is also former President Asif Zardari's right-hand man, assured Phil Ramos in the meeting that such a move would definitely be in the interest of Sindh.


Phil Ramos later visited Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.


Majeed Aziz and Zubair Moiwala, who had invited him for the visit, were not in the city due to some reasons, so they could not attend. However, FPCCI President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, KCCI President Iftikhar Ahmed Sheikh and KCCI Senior Vice President Altaf Ghaffar welcomed Phil Ramos.


Phil Ramos said that the businessmen of Sindh and New York should form a task force and they will provide all possible facilities for B2B meetings and trade shows in New York. He said that to promote Pakistani products on the model of China and India. A 'Made in Pakistan' platform should be created.'


Before leaving home Phil Ramos and his delegation met the President of Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council Jawad Amin Khan. Jawad Amin Khan said that Pakistani nurses and pharmacists are very professional and if they are given opportunities, they can offer their services in hospitals across America, not only this, Pakistani medicines can also make a better place in the American market.


Phil Ramos said that in the next few months, the people of Pakistan will see significant progress in cooperation in the fields of trade, health and education.


In this visit, Phil Ramos ensured that all the scheduled meetings were on time, but no cash assistance was given to the victims of Jaranwala despite being promised by APPEC.


It was a sad matter that Bishop Andreas Joseph Rahmat of Faisalabad prepared a list for APPEC but the victims could not be helped.


On the question why did not fulfill the promise of APEC? A board member said that he himself went to Jaranwala and it was decided that some other measure should be taken instead of cash assistance. Whatever the reason, it would have been better if the bishop's reputation had not been tarnished by the visit.