Pakistan, Bangladesh enjoy friendly ties: Salman

LAHORE : Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique said Pakistan and Bangladesh have very close and friendly diplomatic relations. As per the vision of Maryam Nawaz, the first female Chief Minister in the history of Punjab, we are striving to provide better health facilities to the people.

He expressed these views while talking to a delegation from Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons at a lunch hosted for guest delegation by Senior Vice President College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan and Fatima Jinnah Medical University (FJMU) Vice Chancellor Prof Khalid Masood Gondal at a local hotel here on Saturday.

Before the lunch, the delegation from Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons visited the Pakistan College of Physicians and Surgeons Lahore Centre and reviewed and appreciated the ongoing educational activities.

On this occasion, Vice Chancellor King Edward Medical University Prof Mahmood Ayaz, Prof Rashid Latif Khan, Prof Ibrar Ashraf, Prof Ghiyas ud din Nabi Tayyab, Prof Aamir Zaman Khan and Prof Ayesha Shaukat were present.

The delegation of Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons was attended by President Prof M Shahidullah, Vice President Prof Kohinoor Begum, Secretary Prof Maj Gen (retd) Ali Mian and Council members Prof Tehmina Begum and M Kamal Hussain.

Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman and the delegation discussed the health sector initiatives of Pakistan and Bangladesh, modern reforms for improvement and matters of mutual interest. Gifts were also exchanged between Khawaja Salman and the Bangladeshi delegation.

Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique said on the occasion that the delegation of Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons is welcomed in Pakistan. He said the first government-run and largest 915-bed Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research in the history of Pakistan is being built in Lahore.

Medical education is being promoted in Punjab. State-of-the-art Nawaz Sharif Institutes of Cardiology are being built in Lahore and Sargodha.

He said historical steps like Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Programme, Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Transplant and Chief Minister’s Dialysis Program have been taken to provide relief to the people of Punjab. Prof Khalid Masood Gondal congratulated the newly elected office bearers of Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons.