ISTANBUL: Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a detailed meeting with Istanbul Mayor Mevlut Uysal in Turkey on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the ongoing special summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) which seeks to rally leaders of the Muslim world for a coordinated response to the United States (US) recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
During the meeting, both the leaders strongly condemned US President Donald Trump’s announcement of accepting occupied Baitul Muqaddas as the Israeli capital.
Speaking on the topic, the chief minister said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had represented the sentiments of Muslims the world over on the issue of occupied Baitul Muqaddas, adding that the Islamic world should adopt an effective strategy by standing united on the important issue. The US decision of accepting occupied Baitul Muqaddas as Israeli capital can sabotage peace in the Middle East, he said.
Moreover, different matters of mutual interest including the extension of cooperation in different sectors for bringing improvements in civic amenities came under discussion.
The chief minister said that Pakistan and Turkey enjoyed historically important brotherly relations and thanked the Turkish leadership for providing extensive cooperation to Pakistan in various sectors. He said that the relationship between the two countries had developed into useful economic cooperation under the present government of Pakistan Muslim League-N.
In his turn, the mayor said that cooperation with the Punjab government will be further expanded in different sectors and the cooperation to improve civic amenities will continue.
Shehbaz Sharif along with Finance Minister Khawaja Asif is accompanying Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as part of the Pakistani delegation at the OIC summit.
The summit is being chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country holds the rotating chairmanship of the OIC.
