Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain, who is in Istanbul to attend the 13th Organisation of Islamic Countries Summit (OIC), held meetings with Turkish, Belarus, and Nigerian leadership on the sidelines of the summit.

President Mamnoon Hussain had a range of bilateral meetings and interactions with the world leaders, said a press release issued on Saturday. A range of regional and international issues bilateral cooperation and matters of mutual interest came under discussion during the meeting with the leadership

Extending a warm welcome, Turkish President Erdogan thanked the president for participating in the OIC summit, taking place at time of serious challenges facing the Muslim world.

The president felicitated Turkish’s Erdogan on hosting the OIC summit and extended best wishes for its successful conclusion as well as for Turkey’s leadership at this crucial juncture.

The two leaders reiterated the strong mutual support and solidarity in the face of recent terrorist attacks in Turkey and Pakistan. They reaffirmed the resolve to defeat the scourge of terrorism through resolute action.

The centrality of deeper Pakistan-Turkey economic cooperation was underlined, with both sides emphasising the need for the earliest conclusion of the Free-Trade Agreement (FTA), for which the ‘Framework Agreement’ was signed in Islamabad on 22 March. Ways to deepen the participation of Turkish companies in diverse sectors in Pakistan – from energy and infrastructure to aviation and low-cost housing – were also underlined. Mamnoon also thanked Turkey for its consistent support for the Kashmir cause and reiterated Pakistan’s support to Turkey on the Northern Cyprus issue. Both leaders also exchanged views on regional issues, including Afghanistan and the Middle East.

During his meeting with Turking Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, the abiding strength and closeness of Pakistan-Turkey relations was again emphasised and the determination to transform these cordial ties into a robust, multi-dimensional partnership was reaffirmed. Both sides noted the highly damaging effect of extremism and terrorism on Muslim countries and stressed the importance of concerted endeavours to combat the menace, while simultaneously fighting phenomena like “Islamophobia”.

In the meeting between President Mamnoon Hussain and Afghanistan Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah, both leaders reaffirmed the mutual commitment to work together to address common challenges. The president underlined the importance Pakistan attached to a peaceful and stable Afghanistan and highlighted the efforts being made for the promotion of the Afghan reconciliation.

The two sides also discussed high-level exchanges, including the upcoming visit of Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah to Pakistan, as a means to intensify and reinforce efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region.

In his meeting with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, President Mamnoon Hussain shared Pakistan’s desire for closer economic ties between the two countries. The ongoing visit of the minister of Industries of Pakistan to Belarus was also highlighted. Both sides expressed satisfaction at the rapid growth of bilateral cooperation in recent years – with frequent high-level exchanges and conclusion of agreements for enhanced collaboration in different fields.

Pakistan-Niger cooperation in political and economic domains was focused during the meeting of President Mamnoon and Prime Minister Brigi Rafini. Both sides affirmed the desire to intensify mutual collaboration.