Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu met on the sidelines of the 70th UNGA Session in New York on Tuesday.
During the meeting, the two leaders had a very useful exchange of views covering a wide range of issues. Both agreed to work closely through the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC) mechanism to further cement bilateral ties. More than 50 agreements/MoUs have been signed under this mechanism which are at various stages of implementation.
The Prime Minister and Mr. Davutoglu also agreed to further enhance cooperation between Pakistan and Turkey at multilateral forums such as UN, OIC and ECO. Pakistan and Turkey share similar concerns over UN reforms, especially UN Security Council expansion. Both are members of the Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group. The two countries agreed to closely coordinate positions and lend support to each others’ candidatures in multilateral bodies.
The Turkish Prime Minister hailed Pak-Turkey ties as “heart-to-heart” relations between two brotherly countries.
The Prime Minister availed the opportunity to take his Turkish counterpart into confidence on Pakistan’s concerns over the security situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s relations with India. Pakistan and Turkey reiterated unequivocal support for each other’s position on the issues of Kashmir and Cyprus.