ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit said on Sunday that he hoped Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s Kabul visit would help enhance Pak-Afghan economic ties.
Basit said the main objective of Gilani’s visit was to increase mutual trust, as it was in the benefit of both countries. He said a lot of progress was made in trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan during the last two years, which had raised the masses’ expectations of cordial and friendly bilateral relations.
The FO spokesman said 40,000 to 50,000 thousand Pakistanis were taking part in the reconstruction process in Afghanistan, noting that Islamabad enjoyed “cordial and strong” contacts with Kabul. Basit said President Asif Ali Zardari would visit Turkmenistan next week.
To a question, he said India had not informed Pakistan about the visit of its judicial commission, while Islamabad had already informed New Delhi about sending its judicial commission.
PM to visit Turkey
ANKARA: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani will start a four-day visit to Turkey on Monday to discuss bilateral and regional issues, the Turkish prime minister’s office said.
Gilani and his counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, were to chair the first meeting of a “high-level cooperation council” set up last year and comprising several ministers from both sides, a statement said on Sunday.
The meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, an official from Erdogan’s press office said. Gilani’s programme included also talks with President Abdullah Gul, a speech at the Turkish parliament and a meeting with Turkish business people in Istanbul. AFP
