US State of Georgia, Sindh set to establish ‘sister state’ relationship

The US State of Georgia and Pakistan’s Sindh Province are set to establish sister state-province relations under a resolution passed by Georgia’s legislature.

The Resolution, introduced by State Representative Farooq Mughal, a Democratic Party leader of Pakistani origin, 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,” according to a press release issued by the Pakistani embassy.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US, Masood Khan, Saturday called Representative 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’, he 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,” the Pakistani envoy 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 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 an 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, chairman of the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee; Mike Cheokas, chairman of the House Small Business Development Committee; Carl Gilliard, 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.

Representative 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 Representative Mughal to Governor of Georgia Brian Kemp, the U.S. Senate and the White House.

Ambassador Masood Khan urged Representative Mughal to use his network for facilitating greater linkages between business community and promote people to people exchanges.