Tashkent :  On 14 April, the summit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Imran Khan will be held via videoconference.

The agenda of the event includes topical issues of bilateral practical partnership and regional interaction.

The main attention will be paid to the joint promotion of the project for the construction of the Trans-Afghan railway, increasing the volume of mutual trade, expanding cooperation between leading enterprises and companies of the two countries, resuming air traffic, developing interregional contacts and cultural and humanitarian exchanges.

The leaders of Uzbekistan and Pakistan will also exchange views on cooperation within the framework of international organizations, and consider the schedule of upcoming events.

Following the summit, it is planned to sign a number of joint documents in the political, trade and economic, transport, communication and educational spheres.

DNA

MAKKAH — Saudi Arabian government has announced Ramazan will start in the Kingdom on Tuesday, April 13. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has ordered to shorten taraweeh prayers (special night prayers) at the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah during the holy month of Ramadan.

Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, head of the Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, said that the taraweeh prayers will be shortened to 10 raka’ts from 20 raka’ts, and that will be strictly in compliance with the precautionary measures and preventive protocols, prepared by the presidency.

ISLAMABAD, APR 11 – Prime Minister Imran Khan expanded the operations of the Ehsaas Koi Bhooka Na Soye [No one goes to bed hungry] programme to three more cities — Lahore, Faisalabad and Peshawar — on Sunday.

A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said that the premier had announced the extension of the programme before the arrival of the holy month of Ramazan.

While addressing the extension ceremony in Islamabad, he said that initially a pilot programme of mobile kitchens (kitchens on trucks) had been launched in Islamabad to assess what issues would come up.

“Now you can see it has been started in Peshawar, Lahore and Faisalabad. And this is the beginning — our idea is that we want to spread a network of kitchens [and] meals on wheels across Pakistan and they will then cover all the areas where there is the most poverty and people sleep hungry.”

The prime minister said that blessings and prosperity came from God but it was up to humans to make the effort for them. He said he wanted the office bearers in government and ministers to realise that “their biggest responsibility after coming into power is towards the segment that is poor”.

He questioned why Pakistan hadn’t followed the path set by the state of Medina despite being founded in the name of Islam. “Even though our situation is difficult— there is debt, little money is left to spend on the people — despite that, God’s order is to follow that path. This path is of rule of law and of humanity, that we take responsibility for our poor segment.”

The premier said that God’s blessings would shine upon Pakistan once the state took responsibility for delivering meals to people who couldn’t afford them.

“We don’t realise what a huge asset is lying in our country — the people who give charity. We are among the only countries where people give the most charity, we are very lucky people,” said the prime minister, adding that the people’s charity had supported the running of his Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital.

The prime minister also cited other measures taken for the benefit of the poor such as the government’s Panagah (shelter) programme and universal health coverage.

Prime Minister Imran Khan concluded his address by calling upon the public to participate and donate to the programme with charity before Ramazan. “This is the perfect way to do so. You will receive our numbers and website — participate in any way you can. When government and people join hands, this network will spread in entire Pakistan.”

The programme was launched in Islamabad and Rawalpindi last month under which the poor and labour classes would be provided free meal boxes twice a day through mobile trucks at various points of the twin cities.

Under the programme, a concept of mobile kitchens was introduced which would be plied all over the country to provide free meal to the needy and hungry people. “Koi Bhooka Na Soye programme is the beginning of Pakistan’s transformation into a welfare state,” the prime minister had said at the launching ceremony.

Each food truck feeds 1,500-2,000 people daily on specified service points. The meals are cooked, stored and served from a truck kitchen. Later this year, the programme will be upscaled phase-wise to other parts of the country.

CAIRO, APR 11 – The head of Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said the Ever Given container ship, which ran aground in the waterway for almost a week, will not be allowed to sail until compensation is paid.

“The vessel will remain here until investigations are complete and compensation is paid,” Osama Rabie said in a TV interview late Saturday.

“We hope for a speedy agreement. The minute they agree to compensation, the vessel will be allowed to move,” Rabie added.

On March 25, the 400-meter-long (1,312-foot) Ever Given, owned by Japanese firm Shoei Kisen KK, was sailing from China to the Netherlands with almost 220,000 tons of goods when it ran aground in the canal.

Egyptian authorities have managed to refloat the ship, which is currently stranded in Egypt’s Great Bitter lake area.

Rabie said the SCA estimates the losses caused by the struck ship at around $1 billion.

The SCA chairman said the authority is looking into the possibility of compensating ships that stuck at the canal due to the Ever Given incident.

Rabie said a “technical failure” may have caused the incident as the ship did not follow the captain’s orders. He went on to reiterate that the Suez Canal is safe for sailing and is secured by the Egyptian army.

ISLAMABAD, APR 11 – A flight from Russia with 212 tourists onboard arrived on Sunday at the Milas-Bodrum Airport in southwestern Turkey, marking the first direct international flight to the city this year.

Iclal Kayaoğlu, head of the airport, said the staff were delighted with the arrival of the first international tourists at the airport as authorities organized a welcome ceremony for the travelers when they landed after a three-and-a-half-hour journey from Vnukovo Airport near Moscow.

A water salute was given to the flight to mark the inaugural journey of the season.

“We’re happy to see Russian tourists here. We hope more Russian tourists come this year. We’re very hopeful about this season” said Kayaoğlu.

Kayaoğlu told Anadolu Agency that officials expect a nearly four-fold increase in Russian tourists in 2021.

The tourism season in Bodrum started earlier despite the global coronavirus pandemic that hit the industry across the world as guidelines related to overseas travels remain uncertain in many countries.

“We’re expecting around 260,000 tourists this year,” said Kayaoğlu, citing the forecast of major Turkish tour operator Anex Tour.

She expects 60 direct flights from Russia alone in April and 5,000 flights from across 38 countries by August.

“That’s a very positive picture for us. Because last year, we started to receive tourists in May or June but this year we’re receiving them in April.

“I can assure that the tourist arrivals in Milas-Bodrum airport will be 50% more than that of last year,” Kayaoğlu added.

She went on to say that though the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 measures continues, officials want to stay optimistic.

Bodrum is a top destination in Turkey for tourists from Russia, Ukraine, Britain, Poland and other European countries.