Pak-Turk ties embedded in common cultural, religious, spiritual heritage: PM

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says Pak-Turk relations are embedded in common cultural, religious and spiritual heritage transcending boundaries of time, geography and politics.

Addressing a joint news conference along with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Wednesday, he said high-level strategic cooperation have become instrumental to explore Pak-Turk shared interest.

He welcomed announcement from Turkish President to hold next session of high level meeting in Islamabad in the month of September.

The Prime Minister said a strong business delegation is also visiting Pakistan next June which will have productive results.

He expressed hope that people from Turkey will invest in sectors like e-commerce, tourism, education, infrastructure and hydro power generation.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has underscored the importance of deepening economic engagement and realizing the true potential of business, trade and investment between Pakistan and Turkey.

Talking to Turkish Minister of Trade Dr. Mehmet MUS in Ankara today (Wednesday), he said his visit to Turkey included engagement with the Turkish business community in order to focus on strengthening trade and investment relations.

Underlining the need to increase bilateral trade, the Prime Minister highlighted the importance of early finalization of Trade in Goods Agreement, which would open up new opportunities to boost bilateral trade across various sectors to the benefit of both economies and countries.

The Prime Minister also noted that the connectivity projects between Pakistan and Turkey, in particular Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul Cargo Train, would provide additional avenues for the traders on both sides to conduct business efficiently and expeditiously.

He underlined that the business community from both sides must expand their networking and explore new opportunities for joint ventures.

The meeting also agreed to constitute a Joint Task Force under the coordination of Turkish Ministry of Trade and Ministry of Commerce Pakistan to develop a comprehensive road map covering the issues connected to bilateral trade, including logistics, banking, customs and agriculture.

Turkish Minister for Trade Dr Mehmet MUS agreed with the Prime Minister on realizing true potential of the trade between the two countries and assured full cooperation in this regard.

Shehbaz Sharif deeply lauded the personal contribution of the Turkish Foreign Minister in advancing bilateral relations and for playing an important role in strengthening existing institutional mechanisms of cooperation between the two countries.

He thanked the Turkish Foreign Minister for his country’s principled policy on Jammu and Kashmir.

On Afghanistan, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of addressing the dire humanitarian situation, release of Afghan assets to help stabilize the economy, and continued efforts for sustainable peace and stability in the country.