Agreement between Pakistan and Turkey in the fields of health, defence, communication, information technology, education and tourism will enhance long-standing relations. The people of both countries have strong, exemplary and brotherly relations, Mahfooz Elahi has said, addressing a business community at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

He said that today we need cooperation between our countries more than ever. We need Turkey’s support to build stability in the region. Both countries must realize that foreign policies in the new century will be increasingly determined by their domestic, economic and political conditions.

Mahfooz Elahi said that Pakistan and Turkey must agree for early completion of agreement on the Preferential Trade Agreement to enhance the bilateral talks. He said that initiatives should be taken to achieve the bilateral trade target of $2 billion by 2012 through speedy formulation of a strategic economic cooperation framework.

The President said that by encouraging commercial banks and financial institutions both the countries can open branches in each other’s countries to promote cooperation in the financial sector.

Mahfooz Elahi emphasized to build on geo-economic advantages to advance the relationship between Pakistan and Turkey to an unprecedented level. He stressed the need for upgrading roads, air and rail connectivity between the two countries.

He said that trade volume between two countries is relatively small as compared to their total world trade because of same target markets. Effective and timely implementation of the projects is key to achieving the shared objectives.

The President lauded the Turkish security cooperation in campaigns against terrorism, extremism and human smuggling. He hoped that Pakistan would benefit from Turkey’s experience in reforms. He said that the foremost challenge before the leaders of Pakistan and Turkey now is how to prevent the negative trends in relationship between the two countries. Turkey’s strong support for Pakistan in the Kashmir case has also been a major contributor to the relationship.