ISLAMABAD, Mar 25 (APP): The Embassy of Pakistan in Ankara
held a ceremony to confer awards on the winners of the “Jinnah Young
Writers Award” essay competition.
Turkish Minister for National Education Nabi Avci was the
chief guest at the ceremony held Turkish capital, said a press
release received here Friday.
The Award, named after the Founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, is the initiative of the Pakistan Embassy,
instituted with the support of the Pakistan Foreign Ministry and
organized in collaboration with the Turkish Ministry of National
Education.
The theme for the first edition of the prestigious award was
“Pakistan-Turkey Relations: A Historical Perspective.”
Speaking on the occasion, Minister Nabi Avci paid rich
tributes to the leadership of the Quaid-e-Azam and highlighted the
high esteem in which he was held in Turkey.
Offering his best wishes for “eternal” Pakistan-Turkey
relations, he said these were rooted deep in history and that the
two countries had always stood by each other in good and bad times.
He added that the Turkish nation would never forget the
support and solidarity shown by the people of Pakistan during the
Turkish War of Independence.
The Minister also highlighted growing bilateral cooperation in
the education field and highlighted the large number of Pakistani
students at various institutions of higher learning in Turkey,
exceeding more than 1,000.
Minister Avci reiterated the commitment to further expand
bilateral educational cooperation and concluded the speech by saying
“Jeevay Pakistan; Jeevay Turkey” and “Long live Pakistan; Long live
Turkey.”
Ambassador Sohail Mahmood, in his remarks, commended the
participating students for their participation in the competition
and presenting rich information and perspectives in their essays.
He said the Embassy’s endeavor in instituting this annual
Award was to reach out to the younger generation and acquaint them
with the depth of shared ties of faith, culture and history between
Pakistan and Turkey.
The response “illustrates both the keen interest of the
students and their contributions to further advancing the Pakistan-
Turkey relationship,” he added.
Highlighting the growing level of collaboration in the fields
of education and culture, Ambassador Sohail Mahmood expressed the
confidence that the graph of people-to-people exchanges would
continue to rise.
Earlier, Director General of EU and International Relations of
the National Education Ministry Funda KOCABIYIK in her welcome
speech gave details about the competition.
She said the competition was announced for the senior high
school students of the 81 provinces of Turkey.
Overall, a total of 69 short-listed essays were received for
the completion from 46 provinces across Turkey. Of these, 44 were
contributed by female students and 25 by male students.
Winners of the first, second and third prizes received their
awards from Education Minister Nabi Avci, Ambassador Sohail Mahmood,
and Deputy Minister for Education Orhan Erdem.
Emre Karakuyu of Konya Sel‡uklu Dolapoglu Anadolu Lisesi
secured the first position; Mehmet Furkan Onay of Ankara Atatrk
Lisesi secured second position; while Ebrar Saliha Kopmaz of Sivas
Sel‡uklu Anadolu Lisesi clinched third position. Essays written by
™zge Isiklioglu of Balikesir T.C. Ziraat Bankasi Fen Lisesi, ™zgr
Baran Tun‡ of Gaziantep N. Fazil Kisakrek Anadolu Lisesi and
Rmeysa Aydin of Yalova Anadolu Imam Hatip Lisesi were awarded the
“Honorable Mention.”
The participating students, teachers and the families deeply
appreciated the event and felt that this initiative would go a long
way in further raising awareness about various dimensions of
Pakistan-Turkey relations and reinforcing public support for this
special relationship.