Pakistan for strengthening cultural ties with Haryana: Pak High Commissioner

Chandigarh, Apr 24: Pakistan High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood on Monday said as there were a lot of similarities between the two countries, there should be an exchange from both sides in the fields of sports and culture, to further strengthen the bilateral relations.

Mr Mahmood, who made a courtesy call on Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, said Pakistan evinces keen interest in the growth story of Haryana, especially in the fields of smart city, agriculture, infrastructure development and export.

The High Commissioner invited Mr Khattar to visit Pakistan and expressed hope that peace would prevail between the two countries.

The Chief Minister said Faridabad, Karnal and Gurugram are being developed as smart cities under the smart city project of the Central government.

Under this project, all necessary infrastructure facilities would be provided in these cities in a phased manner to raise the living standard of people. This is a five-year programme and the Central government would provide a grant of Rs 100 crore every year for this purpose. As many as 100 cities have been selected under the Smart City Project in the first phase, he added.

He said a Rs 2400 crore action plan has been prepared for Faridabad to provide facilities like drinking water and sewerage and also for area-specific development.

Mr Khattar said the state government is laying special emphasis on setting up large scale industries and bringing investment to the state, to provide maximum employment opportunities to the youth.

Haryana is a major exporter of rice as it contributes 50 per cent of total rice exported by the country. Apart from this, the state is the largest manufacturer of motor cars in the country. Haryana has highest per capita income among big states and is at number one position in terms of ease of doing business, Mr Khattar told Mr Mahmood.

He said the sportspersons of Haryana have brought laurels to the country in many national and international level competitions. In the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games in Australia, Haryana players bagged 22 medals out of the total 66 won by the country.

On this, Mr Mahmood congratulated Mr Khattar and described it as a big achievement for the state.

The Chief Minister said the state has also made major strides in the field of education. Having close proximity to the national capital Delhi, major private Universities have come up at the Rajiv Gandhi Education City, Kundli and Rai in Sonipat district. In all, Haryana has 46 Universities, including 12 state varsities.