In a significant development, State Legislature of Georgia has passed a landmark resolution to establish Sister State-Province Relations between US State of Georgia and Sindh Province of Pakistan. The Resolution, introduced by State Representative Farooq Mughal and passed by the State Legislature of Georgia, states that “a sister-state relationship between the State of Georgia and the Province of Sindh would promote mutual trade and commerce and increase the potential for educational, environmental, and cultural relations between the Province of Sindh and the State of Georgia.” Ambassador Masood Khan today called State Representative Farooq Mughal to felicitate him on introducing the resolution and said that his efforts have made the entire Pak-American community proud. Terming the Resolution ‘a historic step’, Ambassador Masood Khan said that the landmark Resolution would be instrumental in forging strong and close relationships between the two sides and would help project soft power of Pakistan and the United States. “The Resolution provides a framework and a strong foundation for pursuing mutually beneficial partnerships, both in public and private domains, in critical areas of trade, investment, education, environment, culture and people to people exchanges,” he said. During his telephonic conversation, he said that the Sister State Relations Resolution would open up vistas of opportunities of cooperation between Pakistan and the United States in diverse areas. Thanking the Ambassador for his encouragement, Representative Farooq Mughal said that he was working closely with the business community, industry and academia to forge strong partnerships between the two sides. He said that he would soon be extending invitation to political and the business leadership of Georgia to visit Pakistan to gain first-hand knowledge and explore huge business opportunities existing in the country. The Ambassador also thanked co-sponsors of the bipartisan resolution including State Representatives Ron Stephens (R-Savannah), chairman of the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee; Mike Cheokas (R-Americus), chairman of the House Small Business Development Committee; Carl Gilliard (D-Savannah), chairman of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus; and other law-makers who contributed towards successful passage of the resolution. Georgia is the 24th-largest in area and 8th most populous of the 50 United States. Inhabited by a population of around 11 million with a GDP of $580 billion, Georgia’s trailing five year GDP growth is ranked as 14th in the United States. Sindh province, on the other hand, is the second largest economy of Pakistan with a strong industrial base, coastal access and a highly diversified economy. State Representative Farooq Mughal represents the citizens of District 105, which includes portions of Gwinnett County. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2022 and currently serves on the Special Rules, Judiciary Non-Civil and State Planning & Community Affairs committees. The bipartisan resolution has been submitted by Rep. Farooq Mughal to Governor of Georgia Brian Kemp, the U.S. Senate and the White House. Ambassador Masood Khan encouraged Representative Farooq Mughal to use his network for facilitating greater linkages between business community and promote people to people exchanges. ***** --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------? Below is the text of the Resolution HR 446 House Resolution 446 By: Representatives Mughal of the 105th, Stephens of the 164th, Cheokas of the 151st, Anulewicz of the 42nd, Stoner of the 40th, and others A RESOLUTION Honoring the Province of Sindh's status as a sister state with Georgia; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, Sindh was the site of one of the cradle of civilizations, the Bronze Age Indus Valley civilization, which flourished from about 3000 BCE. Sindh is home to two UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sites: the Makli Necropolis and Mohenjo-daro; and WHEREAS, the economy of Sindh is the second-largest in Pakistan; its provincial capital of Karachi is the most populous city in the country as well as its main financial hub; and WHEREAS, Sindh is home to a large portion of Pakistan's industrial sector and contains two of the country's busiest commercial seaports: Port Qasim and the Port of Karachi. The remainder of Sindh consists of an agriculture-based economy and produces fruits, consumer items, and vegetables for other parts of the country, similar to the State of Georgia; and WHEREAS, much of Sindh's economy is influenced by the economy of Karachi, the largest city and economic capital of the country. Historically, Sindh's contribution to Pakistan's GDP has been between 30 percent to 32.7 percent; and WHEREAS the Province of Sindh is endowed with coastal access and is a major center of economic activity in Pakistan with a highly diversified economy ranging from heavy industry and finance centered in and around Karachi to a substantial agricultural base along the Indus. Manufacturing includes machine products, cement, plastics, and various other goods; and WHEREAS, agriculture plays an important role in Sindh with cotton, rice, wheat, sugarcane, bananas, and mangoes as the most important crops. The largest and finer quality of rice is produced in the Larkano district; and WHEREAS, Sindh is the richest province in natural resources of gas, petrol, and coal; and WHEREAS, Georgia is home to the Honorable Farooq Mughal, the first Pakistan-American and Sindhi-American elected to the Georgia House of Representatives; and WHEREAS, a sister-state relationship between the State of Georgia and the Province of Sindh would promote mutual trade and commerce and increase the potential for educational, environmental, and cultural relations between the Province of Sindh and the State of Georgia; and WHEREAS, the legislature of the State of Georgia, on behalf of the people of Georgia, extends to the people of the Province of Sindh an invitation to join with Georgia in a sister-state relationship until December 31, 2026, in order to encourage and facilitate mutually beneficial economic, educational, environmental, and cultural exchanges and to lead to a more indelible and lasting relationship between Georgians and the people of the Province of Sindh. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that any sister state agreement developed will identify objectives, areas of mutual interest, a list of potential activities, and an initial list of public and private partners that will help to advance the purposes of the sister state agreement, including one or more entities that will serve as facilitators and general points of contact. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the Governor of Georgia, State Representative Farooq Mughal, the Governor of Sindh, the Legislature of Sindh, and the representatives from Georgia in the United States Congress.
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