ANKARA, 18 December 2015: The Ambassador of Pakistan to Turkey, Mr. Sohail Mahmood, visited the Selcuk University, Konya, today, and met with Prof. Dr. Alim GÜR, Dean, Faculty of Letters, as well as the Chairperson of Department of Urdu Language and Literature, Prof. Dr. Nuriye BİLİK, and other Faculty members.
The Department of Urdu at Selcuk University was established in 1985 and has since been an important platform for the teaching and research related to Urdu language and literature.
During the interaction, Ambassador Sohail Mahmood highlighted the efforts being made to strengthen collaborative linkages between Turkish Universities and relevant Pakistani institutions with a view to further promoting Urdu language and literature in Turkey.
The two sides discussed a range of specific measures to increase student and faculty exchanges, enhance awareness of the spiritual links of Allama Mohammad Iqbal and Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi and similarities in the thoughts of Iqbal and Turkey’s national poet Mehmet Arif Ersoy, and intensify cultural collaboration through greater people-to-people contacts.
Ambassador Sohail Mahmood also presented over 50 books for the library of the Urdu Department, provided by Pakistan’s National Book Foundation (NBF) and the Jumhoori Publication, Lahore. The books cover modern Urdu poetry, short stories, and historical and travel accounts as well as Urdu translations of celebrated works of noted Turkish literary and historical figures.
Expressing appreciation for the new addition to their library, Dean GÜR and Chairperson Bilik reaffirmed their commitment to work with the Pakistan Embassy to further advance Urdu studies in Turkey.