Turkish President’s visit to Pakistan: A milestone in bilateral relations widely hailed in KP
PESHAWAR (APP): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent historic two-day visit to Pakistan has been widely hailed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The political, economic and international experts declared the visit of Turkish President was significant step toward strengthening the strategic partnership and economic cooperation between the two brotherly Muslim nations. Manzoorul Haq, former Ambassador said that Pakistan and Turkiye relations are time test that touched new heights of cooperation during the President Erdogan visit to Islamabad. “The historic visit was marked by the high-level discussions at highest Govts level, signing of multiple agreements, and a shared commitment to further enhancing economic cooperation across various sectors” he said.
Upon his arrival at Islamabad’s Nur Khan Airbase, he said that Turkish President Erdoğan received a very warm welcome from Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, cabinet members and other senior officials. Manzoor said the impresduve ceremony featured a 21-gun salute, a fighter jet flyby, and traditional performances, underscoring the deep-rooted ties between the two countries. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz and President Erdoğan have co-chaired the 7th session of the Pakistan-Turkey High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC) established in 2009 which has stands as the highest-level mechanism institutionalising Pakistan-Turkiye cooperation.
Manzoor said the historic visit has resulted in the signing of 24 documents, including agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) aimed at enhancing bilateral and economic cooperation. The agreements covered trade, water resources, agriculture, energy, culture, family and social services, science, banking, education, defence, and healthcare besides others sectors. He said that there was a great scope to increase trade volume. He said it was a good omen that both leaders have agreed to increase efforts to reach target of $5 billion in trade volume that will benefit people of both the countries.
Professor Dr. Adnan Sarwar Khan, former Chairman, International Relations Department at University of Peshawar said that there was mostly commonality of views on regional issues including Kashmir and terrorism between both the countries. “The Turkish President has highly praised Pakistan’s sacrfices in war against terrorism, reaffirming Turkiye’s support to Islamabad in its fight against all forms of terrorism,’ he reiterated. He said Turkiye has allways supported Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir issue while the latter supported the former on Cyprus.
Dr Adnan said that Turkiye was very important country with key role in global and regional politics and its support for Kashmiris’ right of self-determination as per UNSC resolutions were highly significant. Professor Dr Naeem Khattak, former Chairman of Economics Department at University of Peshawar welcomed resolve and commitment of leadership of both countries to increase trade volume that would benefit people of both the countries. “In the economic sphere, both countries agreed to upgrade their existing trade agreement, with the goal of increasing annual bilateral trade from approximately $1.5 billion to $5 billion.
This includes the establishment of a special economic zone in Pakistan for industrial production, a move expected to attract significant Turkish investment,” Dr Adnan said. Experts noted that this historic visit will help enhance Turkey’s influence in South Asia and to counterbalance regional dynamics, particularly in the Middle East while Pakistan expected to explore new markets in Middle East for bolstering its trade.
They said the strengthened ties between Pakistan and Turkiye are expected to have significant implications for regional stability and economic development besides expedite attracting investment. They said President Erdoğan’s visit to Pakistan has been great success, marking a new chapter in bilateral relations between the two nations. The agreements, MoUs and initiatives launched during the visit are poised to foster deeper cooperation and contribute to the peace and prosperity of the entire region.
