Islamabad:January 13:For its first meeting of the New Year, the English Speaking Union (ESU) Rawalpindi and Islamabad chapter organised a talk on Pakistan-Australia bilateral relations with the high commissioner of Australia Tim George at the podium to enlighten members on ‘The growth in Australia’s relations with Pakistan.’

The meeting was held at the Marriott Hotel and sponsored by the Australian Education Office (AEO). After a warming cup of tea and a general ‘hail fellow well met’ interaction between those who were gathered there — not to forget wishes for a happy New Year — the meeting began and was conducted by board member, Tallat Azim who welcomed the members and their guests and thanked the sponsor before inviting president, ESU Lieutenant General (r) Masud Akram to say a few words. He in turn introduced the speaker with a word about his credentials and the ESU, which has its headquarters in London and branches around the world with the aim to create global understanding with the use of the English language.

The high commissioner began by saying he was very happy by the manner in which the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Australia had grown over the past decade although there was still a scope for more trade between the two countries. He gave a detailed account of the many fields of co-operation that have been initiated since Australia began looking closer to home on the bilateral front, with water management and agricultural linkages being among the more important ones since Australia has been very successful on both counts. Going back in history he recalled the many soldiers who had fought valiantly, along with their Australian counterparts, in both World Wars, then went on to talk about the cooperation in military affairs. The Australian government has also donated for rebuilding earthquake-affected areas and for flood relief, while about 500 scholarships have been offered in the field of education.

He concluded by speaking of the very successful Heads of Commonwealth meeting that took place recently and the interaction that had taken place between the business community of both countries.

A question and answer session followed which took the meeting well beyond the time span allocated for it, showing that interest in Australia is growing by the day. The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to the speaker and sponsor.The news.