KARACHI, Pakistan
Turkey's state-run aid agency opened a children's library on Monday in the southern port city of Karachi, Pakistan, aiming to support children's education in the slum areas.
The library was established by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) at a local charity school -- the Al-Khair Welfare Society School -- in the city's northern outskirts.
Turkish Consul General in Karachi, Tolga Ucak, Karachi Commissioner, Iftikhar Shalwani, and TIKA's Karachi coordinator, Ibrahim Katirci attended a ceremony to inaugurate the library, which will benefit some 2,000 children studying at the school.
The Turkish Consul General, wished the best education for Pakistani children, adding that this was their right.
"Libraries are very important for youngsters in their pursuance of quality education," Ucak said adding: "This is a unique place that children will always remember."
He said that Turkey has long been cooperating with Pakistan in education, students travelling to Turkey for under and post graduate education every year.
"The two brotherly countries have unique and special relations, and with the passage of time, human-to-human contacts between the two sides have strengthened," he underlined.
For his part, Shalwani thanked Ankara and TIKA for establishing the library, expressing hope that this cooperation would continue into the future.
He said the city administration planned to restore some 40 government-run libraries in the country’s commercial capital, for which he sought TIKA’s support and cooperation.
TIKA coordinator Katirci observed that there was no other way for nations to grow without education. Thus, he said TIKA Karachi came up with this project to help increase the scale of education, especially in slum areas.
Thanking the Turkish government and TIKA, the society's president Mohammad Mazahir said TIKA not only constructed and furnished the library but also provided some 5,000 children's books.
Established in 1992, Turkey’s government-run aid agency is responsible for implementing the country’s development cooperation policies overseas.
TIKA has been running several welfare projects in the southern Sindh and southwestern Balochistan provinces.
In August this year, the agency handed out stationery and school supplies to over 500 needy students in Gwadar district of Balochistan province, Pakistan.
