Ayaz Sadiq terms Turkey as Pakistan’s best friend

GENEVA: The Speaker of National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said that Pakistan associated great importance to the relations with Turkey as both the fraternal countries were tied in the bonds of religion, history and culture.

Sadiq met Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Ismail Kahraman on the sidelines of the 138th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly at Geneva, Switzerland.

Terming Turkey as the best friend of Pakistan, Sadiq said that the existing relations could be further cemented through enhanced interaction of the lawmakers of both countries.

He said that the people of Pakistan and Turkey had exemplary feelings of respect and friendliness for each other that had materialised in the form of enhanced economic co-operation between the two states. The speaker termed the friendship as “a historic association that is deeply imbedded in the people’s hearts and minds”.

Underlining the importance of the inter-parliamentary exchange between delegations, he said that a greater interaction was necessary because such activities would provide opportunities to exchange views and learn from the experiences of each other. The Speaker also stressed the need for a robust connectivity with Turkey and added that Turkey held a unique importance in Pakistan’s strategic calculations for the regional co-operation.

On the other hand, the speaker of Turkey’s parliament Ismail Kahraman said that Turkey was determined to foster robust ties with Pakistan through enhanced bilateral and multilateral co-operation. He remarked that Pakistan-Turkey bilateral cooperation would unleash a new wave of connectivity in the region.

He reaffirmed his commitment to expand trade and cultural relations with Pakistan and urged the need for a greater exchange between the parliamentary delegations.

While congratulating the nation on Pakistan Day, Ismail Kahraman said that the Turkish people could never forget the sacrifices of the Muslims of India and Pakistan during the Turkish War of Independence. The Turkish speaker said that his country desired to translate the historic association with Pakistan into economic and strategic partnership in all fields for the mutual benefit.