ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain on Tuesday stressed close cooperation between Pakistan and Turkey to jointly combat terrorism for peace and stability the two countries and the region.
The president stated this in a meeting with Turkish parliamentary delegation led by Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT) Speaker Ismail Kahraman at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. The president expressed condolence over the loss of many lives in the recent terrorist attacks in Istanbul, Ankara and other cities and assured that Pakistan stood in strong solidarity with Turkey and is ready to assist in any way possible.
President Mamnoon Hussain condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and said that the terrorists had no religion. The president said the misguided elements involved in terrorism are tarnishing the image of Islam adding that Islam is a religion of peace and such barbaric acts could not be condoned. He said that the current level of trade between the two countries did not commensurate with the actual potential and called for sustained efforts to raise the volume of trade.
The president said that the process for Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries required to be expedited to bolster bilateral trade.
He expressed satisfaction at the defence cooperation between the two countries and noted with appreciation that the training facilities in both the countries are being utilised by the defence personnel of the two brotherly countries.
The president thanked Turkey for providing trainer aircrafts to Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and expressed his optimism that collaboration between the two countries in the defence sector would further grow in the future. President Mamnoon Hussain paid tributes to the leadership of Turkish President Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu for transforming Turkey into a prosperous and developed country during the last decade.
The president further said that Pakistan also faced similar challenges during the last 15 years but under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the country is now on the road to progress and prosperity.
He noted that Pakistan and Turkey’s unique relationship remained unparalleled in terms of mutual trust, understanding and close cooperation and called for increasing the frequency of exchanges between Pakistan and Turkey in the political, parliamentary, economic and defence realms to further cement brotherly relations.
Turkish Grand National Assembly Speaker Ismail Kahraman said that Pakistan and Turkey are facing common problem of terrorism and hoped that with mutual cooperation, the two countries would soon get rid of this menace and expressed his sympathies for the victims of terrorism in Pakistan. He praised Pakistan’s efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan and hoped that the peace initiative would achieve success.