On behalf of Pakistan Sri Lanka Business Forum and in my capacity as President, I would like to express our appreciation to Mr Karim Soomro for his enlightening letter published in your esteemed newspaper. We are very proud of the fact that we got the opportunity to host an interactive meeting in Karachi with the His Excellency Mahinda Rajapakse, President of Sri Lanka. I would venture to present the following for your consideration: We were inundated with requests for invitations to attend this meeting. We were unable to accommodate all requests because this meeting was primarily for the benefit of our members and for those who were signing the MOUs (yes, it may be the craze nowadays but these MOUs actually pertained to business cooperation and linkages and not pipe dreams). We added the names of potential industrialists and businessmen who were desirous of doing business with Sri Lanka. We also provided them the opportunity to meet the businessmen who were in the President’s entourage. This was the best way to touch base and get the ball rolling. Mr Soomro did take advantage according to his letter. We take pride in starting programs on time. The President was late was because there was a sudden change in his itinerary in Karachi because the Hon’ble Sindh Governor hosted a reception for him. We were informed of this just a day before and it was too late to contact all invitees. Nevertheless, it is to the credit of His Excellency that all our guests preferred to wait his arrival and utilized these moments to interact with their Sri Lankan counterparts. We are also grateful to our members and guests for their trust reposed in us. Regarding the “hustle-bustle of the cameramen”, we had planned to have just our official photographer but the PID, maintaining protocol, invited a large number of photographers and the electronic media. We are, of course, grateful for the wide publicity we received. Furthermore, the reason the Sri Lankan President was in “a jolly good mood” was that we were fortunate to have an audience with His Excellency in Colombo in March and he had charmed us to the moon. We have been meeting the Sri Lankan Ministers in the past too and we have an excellent equation with The Sri Lankan High Commissioner and the Consul General. Besides this, our Founder Chairman Majyd Aziz is well known for his gregarious nature and it worked as always. The security was relaxed because we wanted it that way. We did not expect too many members of Sindh Special Police but we had to allow them to perform their duties. We impressed upon them that we would NOT accept a paranoid security atmosphere and thus Mr Soomro and others felt a relaxed security environment. We would moreover add that we decided to present Ajraks and Sindhi caps instead of a plaque because we are of the opinion that presenting these represent a much more valued honor and respect than just a plaque. The President and the Ministers thoroughly appreciated this as can be seen from the pictures we have in our archives. The President also very graciously allowed the guests to take photographs with him. We also thank Federal Agriculture Minister Sikander Bosan and Sindh Minister for Industries and Labor, Mr Adil Siddiqui, for their presence as this was a source of encouragement for us. Furthermore, we thank His Excellency for honoring the Forum by decreeing that he would address the business community only at the Forum meeting rather than at functions of other business organizations in Islamabad or Lahore. This is definitely a remarkable honor for PSLBF and we are proud of this. In fact, PSLBF is the only bilateral forum in Pakistan to have hosted two Presidents. On February 9, 2005, the erstwhile Sri Lankan President, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, was the Chief Guest at the MOU signing ceremony in Islamabad between PSLBF and The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. This is true recognition and we are the recipients of this outstanding acceptance of our status. We also agree with Mr Soomro that “he was looking young in his trademark white dress with a red scarf”. In my Vote of Thanx, I had jocularly remarked that I want to sign a MOU with His Excellency to market the “secret” of looking so young inspite of the responsibilities of the state resting heavy on his shoulders. And finally, we thank the print and electronic media for their coverage and their support to our Forum each and every time we send them a Press or Photo Release.

Sincerely:

Abdul Rauf Tabani
    President