HOUSTON:
Mayor Annise Parker of Houston seems to be keen to lead a high profile
business and investment delegation to Karachi and other cities of
Pakistan; and to make this a fruitful reality, Consul General of
Pakistan Afzaal Mahmood said.
Expressing his views at the 5th Anniversary Meeting of Board of Directors of the Houston Karachi Sister City Association (HKSCA), Afzaal Mahmood said: “We are public servants at the Consulate. We have a limited staff of seven to eight persons. That is not our whole team. Our Consulate's team includes all the organizations of Pakistan and all the Pakistanis in Houston & beyond, and we can work together to serve both USA & Pakistan.”
A Special cake was cut on this occasion to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the formation of HKSCA, which was accomplished with the signing of a MoU in 2009 between the then Mayor Bill White of Houston and Nazimae Aala Mustafa Kamal of Karachi at the City Hall in Houston.
Earlier, the Honorable Consul General, all the HKSCA Board Member and Guests were welcomed by President Muhammad Saeed Sheikh. Program started with invocation; adopting of the agenda; which was followed by the welcoming remarks of HKSCA President Mr. Sheikh.
In attendance at this meeting with the Honorable Consul General of Pakistan Afzaal Mahmood; held at a local Houston restaurant; included Commercial Attaché of Pakistan Fawad Shah; Ms. Tomiko Olah, Protocol Manager & Sister Cities Coordinator; Jensen Shen of the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP); the visiting member of KHSCA Muzaffar Khan with his friends; and majority of the board & committee chairs of HKSCA including President Muhammad Saeed Sheikh; Vice President Mohammad Zaheer; General Secretary Omar Khawaja; Board of Directors M. J. Khan; Syed Nayyar Izfar; Cristal Montañéz Baylor; & David Godwin; and Committee Chairs of Community Services & Media Affairs ILyas Choudry; Public Relations Matloob Khan; & Publications Amir Maqsood Khan; and Volunteers Rose Ashraf, Inayat Ashraf, Zafar Khan & Abdul Rauf Khan. Community Journalist of "Houston Nama - Pakistan News" Shamim Syed was also in attendance.
After the various reports about the history, educational, trade, cultural, healthcare, and humanitarian endeavors and future plans of HKSCA were presented.
Honorable Consul General Afzaal Mahmood gave some candid remarks, and suggestions, so that the work of HKSCA can be further enhanced:
HKSCA needs to maintain a good database, and share with the Consulate, so as to work as a team. There is need to promote food & culture of Pakistan; and for this, Consulate can provide In-Kind assistance to HKSCA, who should also involve the Pakistani Student Association (PSA), as without youth, sustainability of an organization is not possible, said Mahmood.
Karachi is the 17th Sister City of Houston and the 100th Muslim city to enter the overall Sister City network. The Sister City Association is a voluntary organization created in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as part of the Sister City International (SCI) organization. SCI's goal is to develop municipal partnerships between US cities, counties, and states with similar jurisdictions in other nations.
"The idea of enhancing the healthcare system in Karachi through tele-medicine between a major hospital in Karachi with a salient hospital in Houston is fantastic, and Consulate will facilitate it thorough the various ministries of Pakistan. Also Ambassador of Pakistan is expected to visit Houston in the month of June 2014. HKSCA should work towards getting the statue of Mr. Jinnah, Founding Father of Pakistan placed in Hermann Park, Houston; and assist to achieve the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Status with the US similar to recently accorded by the European Union to Pakistani trade,” said Consul General of Pakistan Afzaal Mahmood.
Expressing his views at the 5th Anniversary Meeting of Board of Directors of the Houston Karachi Sister City Association (HKSCA), Afzaal Mahmood said: “We are public servants at the Consulate. We have a limited staff of seven to eight persons. That is not our whole team. Our Consulate's team includes all the organizations of Pakistan and all the Pakistanis in Houston & beyond, and we can work together to serve both USA & Pakistan.”
A Special cake was cut on this occasion to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the formation of HKSCA, which was accomplished with the signing of a MoU in 2009 between the then Mayor Bill White of Houston and Nazimae Aala Mustafa Kamal of Karachi at the City Hall in Houston.
Earlier, the Honorable Consul General, all the HKSCA Board Member and Guests were welcomed by President Muhammad Saeed Sheikh. Program started with invocation; adopting of the agenda; which was followed by the welcoming remarks of HKSCA President Mr. Sheikh.
In attendance at this meeting with the Honorable Consul General of Pakistan Afzaal Mahmood; held at a local Houston restaurant; included Commercial Attaché of Pakistan Fawad Shah; Ms. Tomiko Olah, Protocol Manager & Sister Cities Coordinator; Jensen Shen of the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP); the visiting member of KHSCA Muzaffar Khan with his friends; and majority of the board & committee chairs of HKSCA including President Muhammad Saeed Sheikh; Vice President Mohammad Zaheer; General Secretary Omar Khawaja; Board of Directors M. J. Khan; Syed Nayyar Izfar; Cristal Montañéz Baylor; & David Godwin; and Committee Chairs of Community Services & Media Affairs ILyas Choudry; Public Relations Matloob Khan; & Publications Amir Maqsood Khan; and Volunteers Rose Ashraf, Inayat Ashraf, Zafar Khan & Abdul Rauf Khan. Community Journalist of "Houston Nama - Pakistan News" Shamim Syed was also in attendance.
After the various reports about the history, educational, trade, cultural, healthcare, and humanitarian endeavors and future plans of HKSCA were presented.
Honorable Consul General Afzaal Mahmood gave some candid remarks, and suggestions, so that the work of HKSCA can be further enhanced:
HKSCA needs to maintain a good database, and share with the Consulate, so as to work as a team. There is need to promote food & culture of Pakistan; and for this, Consulate can provide In-Kind assistance to HKSCA, who should also involve the Pakistani Student Association (PSA), as without youth, sustainability of an organization is not possible, said Mahmood.
Karachi is the 17th Sister City of Houston and the 100th Muslim city to enter the overall Sister City network. The Sister City Association is a voluntary organization created in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as part of the Sister City International (SCI) organization. SCI's goal is to develop municipal partnerships between US cities, counties, and states with similar jurisdictions in other nations.
"The idea of enhancing the healthcare system in Karachi through tele-medicine between a major hospital in Karachi with a salient hospital in Houston is fantastic, and Consulate will facilitate it thorough the various ministries of Pakistan. Also Ambassador of Pakistan is expected to visit Houston in the month of June 2014. HKSCA should work towards getting the statue of Mr. Jinnah, Founding Father of Pakistan placed in Hermann Park, Houston; and assist to achieve the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Status with the US similar to recently accorded by the European Union to Pakistani trade,” said Consul General of Pakistan Afzaal Mahmood.
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