Trade, investment to further consolidate Islamabad-Ankara ties: Pakistan's premier

By Faruk Zorlu

ANKARA (AA) - Boosting trade and investment between Pakistan and Türkiye will further reinforce the relations between the two nations, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday.

Addressing a meeting of the Türkiye-Pakistan Business Council organized by the Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) in Istanbul, Sharif said: "The deep-rooted brotherly relations between Pakistan and Türkiye will be further consolidated through strengthening trade and investment ties."

Praising the contribution of DEIK in boosting commercial ties between the two nations, he voiced his government’s “strong commitment” to providing opportunities to businessmen from both sides to further develop mutually beneficial linkages, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Trade in Goods Agreement (TGA) signed in August, during the Turkish trade minister’s visit to Pakistan will contribute to achieving "higher trade volumes commensurate with the true potential existing between the two sides," Sharif said.

During one-on-one meetings with Türkiye's leading businesspeople on the sideline of the meeting, he hailed the contribution of business enterprises operating in Pakistan to the development and growth of Pakistan’s economy and urged the businesses to invest in Pakistan, particularly in the evolving energy sector, such as renewables, and assured complete support of Pakistan’s government, according to the statement.

The participants also voiced their commitment to continue their contribution to deepening bilateral trade and economic relations, it added.

Sharif began a two-day official visit to Türkiye on Friday at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

On Friday, Sharif and President Erdogan jointly inaugurated the third of four MILGEM corvette ships manufactured by Türkiye for the Pakistan Navy at the Istanbul Shipyard.