PICTURE: RADIO PAKISTAN
ISLAMABAD: Visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan here on Thursday said that his country fully supports Pakistan’s efforts to fight terrorism and resolve the Kashmir issue.
President Erdogan was speaking at a ceremony held to sign various agreements and memorandums of understanding along with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in Islamabad.
“Pakistan is our second home, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Iqbal are our heroes too,” he said.
The two countries have agreed to further strengthen bilateral relations, and in this regard 24 agreements and memorandums of understanding have been agreed between. Trade issues were discussed in the meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari, encouraging their investors to invest in Pakistan.
He said our military dialogue and cooperation in defense industry have grown and bilateral trade and investment were increasing exponentially. He said the two sides had reaffirmed the determination to advance the projects and potential areas of cooperation including procurement, sales and joint manufacturing.
Referring to the 24 agreements signed today, the Turkish President expressed the confidence that they will prove beneficial for the two countries and the region.
Mr Erdogan appreciated Pakistan’s sacrifices in the war against terrorism. He emphasized Turkiye’s unconditional support to Pakistan in its fight against all forms of terrorism.
The two countries have a trade volume of $5 billion. Cooperation in the field of defence and defence production was also discussed by the two sides.
The Turkish president said Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited the earthquake-affected areas of Turkey. There is a deep relationship between the people of the two countries. Pakistan has made great sacrifices in the fight against terrorism and Turkiye fully supports Pakistan in the fight against terrorism.
He said that he would continue to work to further strengthen the relationship between the two countries, adding that Turkey’s Maarif Foundation schools would play an important role in Pakistan’s education sector.
The President of Turkey said: “We support Pakistan’s efforts to resolve the Kashmir issue, Pakistan’s support on the issue of Cyprus is very important to us. We raise our voice for Palestine with Pakistan in every forum of the world; it is our duty to help our Palestinian brothers and sisters. We will continue to work together for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.”
