Turkey thanks Pakistan for all-out support

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Turkish Foreign Minister, Mr Mevlut Cavusoglu meets President and Prime Minister of Pakistan; hopes to further deepen ties with Islamabad

Ansar Bhatti/DNA

ISLAMABAD:Turkish Foreign Minister, Mr Mevlut Cavusoglu has said both Turkey and Pakistan have been cooperating on various forums adding leadership of both countries was committed to address issue of terrorism head on.

He expressed these views while talking to a select group of Pakistani media people at the residence of the Turkish Ambassador Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul. Two famous characters of drama Etrugrul namely Nurettin Sonmez(known as Bamsi Beyrek and Ayberk Pekcan known as Artuk Bey also accompanied the Turkish Foreign Minister.

The Turkish Foreign Minister further said he was glad to know that the Turkish drama Ertugrul was so popular in Pakistan. He said two of the main characters of the drama were accompanying him.

The minister told the media people that Turkey fully supports Pakistan adding cooperation between the two countries shall further be strengthened. He also thanked the Pakistani leadership and Pakistani people for supporting Turkey in difficult times.

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Earlier Pakistan and Turkey agreed to further solidify and expand bilateral cooperation in the fields of tradeand culture. It was agreed at a meeting between President Dr Arif Alvi and the visiting Turkish delegation, led by Turkish Foreign Minister, Mr Mevlut Cavusoglu, which called on him, at Aiwan-e-Sadr,.

Welcoming the delegation, the President said that Pakistan and Turkey enjoyed excellent relations and both countries needed to further enhance economic and cultural relations for the mutual benefit of the two countries. He informed that Pakistan’s ranking of Ease of Doing Business had tremendously improved and Turkish investors needed to capitalize on investment opportunities in Pakistan. He expressed satisfaction over Turkish investment in Pakistan which had grown over USD 1 Billion.

The President deeply thanked the Turkish leadership for its principled stance on Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He asked the Foreign Minister to convey his gratitude to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for raising the voice of Kashmiris during his recent speech at UN General Assembly. He also appreciated Turkey’s leading role in the global efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic by providing assistance and support to Pakistan and other countries.

The Turkish Foreign Minister said that Turkey was keen to improve trade relations with Pakistan. He added that Turkey would continue encouraging Turkish companies to invest in Pakistan. Mr Mevlut Cavusoglu assured that his country would continue to support Pakistan at international fora. He appreciated Pakistan’s support to Azerbaijan on Nagorno Karabakh. Both sides underlined the need to work closely on joint initiatives to combat Islamophobia, hate speech and other manifestations of intolerance towards Islam.

  Later, the President conferred the award of Hilal-e-Pakistan on Turkish Foreign Minister, at a special investiture ceremony, in recognition of his services for the promotion of international peace and security as well as Pak-Turkey relations.

Meanwhile Turkish Foreign Minister also called on Prime Minister Imran Khan. During the meeting, Pakistan-Turkey bilateral relations and regional and international issues were discussed.Reaffirming the exceptional nature of Pakistan-Turkey political relationship, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of transforming it into a robust economic partnership. The shared resolve on both sides to further upgrade trade, investment, defence, educational and cultural cooperation was reaffirmed.

The Prime Minister thanked Turkey for its steadfast support on the Jammu & Kashmir dispute and highlighted the detrimental Indian actions posing a threat to peace and security. In the regional context, the Prime Minister underscored the importance Pakistan attached to a peaceful solution of the conflict in Afghanistan. In this regard, he highlighted Pakistan’s positive contribution to the Afghan peace process and the imperative for all Afghan stakeholders to work for bringing down violence leading to ceasefire and securing an inclusive and broad-based political settlement.

The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of working to combat Islamophobia and promote better understanding of the reverence Muslims have for the Holy Prophet (PBUH).