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PM Shehbaz seeks to quintuple trade with Turkiye in 3 years

By Staff Report
  • Stresses untiring efforts to convert summaries, feasibilities into action
  • PM welcomes prospects of ECO’s outreach to CARs

ISLAMABAD/ANKARA: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday exhorted Turkiye business community to do everything it can to enhance the meager trade of $1 billion to $5 billion in three years as per an agreement signed with the Turkiye government.

Addressing a meeting of the Pakistan-Turkiye Business Council in Istanbul on Saturday, PM Shehbaz said that Pakistan currently has a meagre trade volume of $1 billion. He added that they had signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance this trade volume to $5 billion in the next three years. “It is not a big task at all,” he said, adding, “Let us resolve that we will do everything to achieve this target in three years, rather double it.”

He added that beautiful summaries and feasibilities made all would be of no consequence at all unless it is converted into action through hard work and untiring efforts.

Earlier, he said that terrorists have no religion and belong to no one country as he condoled with Turkish people over the recent terror attacks.

“Turkiye has been the victim of terrorist attacks like Pakistan,” he said, adding that Pakistan shares Turkyie’s pain.

Shehbaz said that he was very happy to note that the Turkiye authorities were able to catch the terrorists within no time which sends a very strong message to all and sundry that Turkish strength to fight this menace cannot be taken lightly.

“We share your grief and share your pain as Pakistan suffered for long years at the hands of these terrorists,” he said.

“As we all know and agree that terrorists have no religion, they are not human beings and they belong to no one’s land,” he said, adding, “They are terrorists, they are cruel and they are barbaric.”

He urged the entire peace-loving community to act together against terrorists with great strength and effort. “Pakistan paid huge sacrifices to fight this menace and to a very large extent they have been defeated,” he said, adding that for this hard fought peace, they paid huge cost in the form of sacrifices from the armed forces including officers, sepoys, law enforcers, common man, doctors, mothers, children, paid huge sacrifices to defeat them.

He recalled having broad talks with Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on expanding and deepening ties between the two nations. In the launch of the third MILGEM Corvette Class ship, PNS Khaibar on Friday, Shehbaz said that this was an opportunity to enhance defence cooperation between the two countries.

Later in a tweet on Saturday, the prime minister said in addition to reviewing the whole spectrum of bilateral relations, President Erdogan and he discussed ways and means to achieve the target of increasing trade volume to 5-billion dollars in 3-years.

He wrote on his tweet handle: “we vowed to ensure effective implementation of Trade in Goods Agreement in this regard.”

Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with management of Zorlu in Istanbul on Saturday. CEO of Zorlu Holding Ömer Yüngül, CEO of Zorlu Energy, Ibrahim Sinan Ak and Director Overseas Projects, Evren Evcit participated in the meeting.

Collaboration in clean energy was discussed. The company has already invested in wind and solar energy in Pakistan.

The Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also held separate meetings with President Albayrak Group, Ahmet Albayrak and President DEIK and CEO of Pak Group, Nail Olpak in Istanbul on Saturday.

On the occasion, Istanbul based PAK YATIRIM company showed interest in solar energy investments in Pakistan.

PM welcomes prospects of ECO’s outreach to CARs

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday welcomed the prospects of expansion of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) outreach to the landlocked Central Asian Republics (CARs) for exploring wider economic and trade dividends of the region.

Talking to the President of ECO Trade and Development Bank during a signing ceremony of financial assistance to Pakistan, the prime minister welcomed the prospects of inclusion of CARs in the ECO.

The prime minister further suggested hosting of ECO members countries’ summit including the CARs with proper agenda after consensus which would give a push to the economic activities and regional cooperation.

The prime minister urged the ECO to further tap the potential of Central Asian countries which had a huge population and offering diverse potential of railways and land network connectivity.

He said that developing countries like Pakistan required foreign investment and the CARs could be connected via Afghanistan, and these linkages would broaden the economic relations among all the regional countries.

He opined that economic priority was on the ECO agenda and further prospects could provide further opportunities to the developing countries like Pakistan.

The prime minister termed the idea as “a game changer”, adding that the Gwadar port would serve as a hub for transporting gas to the world.

He opined that railroads and roads connectivity would shape the regional landscape, through a vision of three-way economic cooperation. The countries rich with natural resources could export their goods through these linkages, he added. He also invited the president of the Bank to visit Pakistan.

The EUR 150 million financial assistance from ECO Trade and Development Bank will also be utilized for flood relief, he concluded.

 

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