Islamabad – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan arrived in Islamabad onThursday evening for a two-day visit to Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan received the Turkish leader at NurKhan Air Base.
“President Erdoğan will be accompanied by a high-level delegationcomprising cabinet members and senior government officials, as well asheads and CEOs of leading Turkish corporations,” the Pakistan ForeignOffice said in a statement released before Erdoğan’s arrival.
“President Erdoğan and PM Imran Khan will hold a one-on-one meeting inIslamabad, after which both leaders will co-chair the sixth session of thePakistan-Turkey High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council,” the ForeignOffice’s statement further said.
The forum provides strategic direction to strengthening bilateral relationsbetween the countries.
“There are plans for ‘vibrant cooperation’ in tackling Islamophobia,promoting Islamic solidarity and advancing shared goals of regional peace,security and stability,” the Foreign Office continued.
“Several important agreements and MoUs [Memoranda of Understanding] areexpected to be concluded. The Turkish president will separately meet with[Pakistani] President Arif Alvi. President Erdoğan will also address ajoint session of the parliament of Pakistan. Together with Prime MinisterImran Khan, he will address the Pakistan-Turkey Business and InvestmentForum which brings together leading investors and business people from bothsides,” the statement continued.
Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui told reporters, “There are sevenjoint working groups working under the High-Level Strategic CooperationCouncil, focusing on trade and investment, the energy sector, banking andfinance, transport and communication, tourism and culture, education andpolitical coordination.”
Asad Qaiser, speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, told The MediaLine that “President Arif Alvi has called the joint session of parliamentfor Friday the 14th of February at 11 am.”
Hammad Azhar, federal minister for economic affairs, told The Media Linethat “Erdoğan’s visit will bring significant trade and economic changes inthe region. Erdoğan is enthusiastic about boosting trade and economic tieswith Pakistan.”
Azhar added that currently, trade between Pakistan and Turkey is worth $900million a year. “To expand the bilateral trade volume, in 2019 bothcountries agreed to implement the Turkish-initiated Strategic EconomicFramework, which includes a free trade agreement, technology transfer,capacity building, and defense cooperation as well,” he said.
“Several agreements will be signed under this Strategic EconomicFramework,” he said.
Azhar told The Media Line, “PM Imran Khan has assigned me to ensureprogress on bilateral agreements between Pakistan and Turkey. The primeminister also directed that a review meeting be held every month to monitorprogress on the issues being resolved.”
Earlier, Khan told a meeting in Islamabad attended by federal ministers,special advisers to the prime minister and federal secretaries that“Pakistan-Turkey relations are of historic importance and the two countriesstand side by side in every moment of difficulty.”
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Khan emphasized that “Turkey’s clear stance on the Kashmir issue in supportof Pakistan’s principle position is worthy of praise.”
Meanwhile, Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Mustafa Yurdakul told the AnadoluAgency, “President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Islamabad would be ahistoric event and a major step toward exemplary bilateral ties between thetwo brotherly countries.”
“More than 60 Turkish businessmen will be accompanying the president. So,this is also a very important event which will take our commercial andeconomic relationship to a new level,” the ambassador said.
Adil Faroque, a Rawalpindi-based leading defense analyst, told The MediaLine, “During Imran Khan’s tenure, Pakistan’s relations with Turkey havebeen enhanced.”
“The Pak-Turk Military Consultative Group was established in 1988, and itwas recently upgraded to a High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council(HLSCC). Under the HLSCC, scores of military cooperation agreements havebeen signed during 2018-19.”
Faroque noted that “in 2000, after the US embargo, the Pakistan ArmedForces, particularly the Pakistan Air Force, had suffered many difficultiesin keeping its F-16s [fighter jets] and C-130s [military transportaircraft] operational. It was Turkey who filled the vacuum and helped thePAF [Pakistan Air Force] not only to upgrade its US-made equipment but alsoprovided every spare part to keep its ‘war and logistic’ squadrons running.
“Despite the US pressure, Turkey continued its tactical support of Pakistanduring that era,” he said.
“In 2018, both countries signed another historic defense pact, and thusTurkey has become the second-largest arms supplier [to Pakistan] afterChina,” Faroque told The Media Line.
“The purchase of $1.5 billion worth of 30 Turkish T-129 attack helicopterswas one of the defense mega-deals between both countries,” he said.
Salman Hashmi, an Islamabad-based regional political expert, told The MediaLine that “Turkey is openly supporting Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmirconflict and in past, Turkey had maintained political and military supportduring Pakistan’s conflict with India.
“Meanwhile, Pakistan has reciprocated by expressing support for Turkey’spolicy in the Cyprus conflict. Turkey along with Malaysia fully supportedPakistan when it was placed in the gray list by the Financial Action TaskForce [on Money Laundering] last year,” he told The Media Line.
“Pakistan and Turkey both are strategically located in the region, and bothcountries’ leaderships have the potential to mobilize and lead the IslamicUmmah [the worldwide Islamic community] in securing their rights andgetting rid of so-called radicalization and terrorism,” Hashmi said.
