Pakistan and Turkey have agreed to further solidify and expand bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade and 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, today.
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.
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