Dr. URS Lustenberger, President – SACC: It is my great pleasure at this very momentous time to do something that the world should continue to do, actually to sign agreements of understanding between foreign countries. I think the world as we know it, is gliding slowly towards an abyss, and we should do the utmost; all of us, to keep global trade going, to keep global peace going, and to stay a friendly and embracing planet for every human being that we know. I am very proud that today we signed a MoU with the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations, I know they do want to be an enlightener of global issues concerning Pakistan, they are a think tank, they want to collaborate with other foreign institutions, and they want to cooperate with foreign dignitaries. Me as the Chairman of the Swiss Asian Chamber of Commerce, I am less the head of a think-tank, I am more the head of a do- tank but we do need to collaborate with foreign organizations that hold the same values, that spread the same ideas, and I think the Karachi Council for Foreign Relations is one of those. I hope the signing of this MOU will be a little step forward in gathering pace towards friendship and global trade, and I thank Ikram Sehgal my counterpart for having organized this momentous event, and I’m very proud that Switzerland through this got a little step closer to Pakistan. Thank you Ikram.
Ikram Sehgal, Chairman Pathfinder Group & KCFR: Thank you Dr. Urs, actually I am very grateful to the Swiss Asian Chamber of Commerce because over the past few years we actually have been working without an MOU, and we’ve been working simply by that major bond that should exist between all countries, and that is unspoken bound of friendship, and we found the Swiss Asian Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Urs yourself and Barbara always coming forth, and not within days or weeks but within hours responding to whatever we have. I totally agree that in this day and age where the world seems to be heading towards chaos and confusion, to have such relationships and to build on those relationships makes a great difference. I just gave a lecture in Le Havre University in France on the Eurasian concept, and if you look at it, two countries come to mind for Eurasia, other than Pakistan, we are part of South Asia, we are part of Central Asia, we are part of Middle East but the pivot countries are Turkey and Switzerland, and if you look at the pivot countries both for commerce, trade and for exchanging of ideas, every conflict that we know of ends at a negotiating table for peace. So why have the conflict? Why not negotiate for peace first and avoid that conflict? So I am personally grateful to you, Urs and to you, Barbara and all the Board Members. They have been attending our Pakistan Breakfast regularly and turning up in good numbers, which gives us a greater amount of excitement. Therefore, I thank you again, I thank everybody here and I thank all the members for being present at what I think is a momentous occasion not only for Pakistan but for a future friendship between Pakistan and Switzerland. Thank you.
