On his landmark visit to Turkey, his first since assuming office in May, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to make structural changes to boost trade and economic ties between what he described as “one nation, two states.” In his first exclusive interview with the Turkish media since his election victory, Sharif told Today’s Zaman that his “visit is aimed at putting in place institutional mechanisms, which will provide a strong platform for further cementing economic ties.” He underlined the excellent political relations between the two countries: “A huge reservoir of goodwill and affection flows from one country to another.” Sharif lamented, however, that there is a long way to go to translate these excellent political relations into tangible and robust trade relations. He called on Turkish businesspeople and entrepreneurs to invest in Pakistan, especially in sectors like energy, infrastructure, engineering and the agro-based industry. Citing recent success stories involving Turkish companies in Pakistan, like Lahore’s Metro Bus System and a wind energy project in Sindh, Sharif called Pakistan an investor-friendly country that offers complete legal protection and fair treatment to both local and foreign companies. Sharif is leading a large business delegation to Turkey. On Wednesday, Sharif will participate in a business forum in Istanbul and Pakistani and Turkish businesspeople will be in attendance. Sharif emphasized Turkey’s role as a bridge between Asia and Europe, and Pakistan’s potential to become a gateway to energy-rich Central Asia. Education is the nation’s top priority in ensuring equal opportunity and social justice, he said, adding that Turkish support and technical assistance in transforming Pakistan’s education system would be welcome.
Speaking on his visit to the media, Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif explained “My visit coincides with the meeting of the Third High Level Cooperation Council where my cabinet colleagues and senior officials will interact with their Turkish counterparts. I am also keen to interact with Turkish businessmen and investors. Domestically, the priorities of my government include economic progress and prosperity of the people of Pakistan. The Afghanistan-Pakistan-Turkey trilateral process is an important initiative aimed at promoting peace, stability and socioeconomic development in Afghanistan. The situation in Afghanistan, especially after the drawdown of troops in 2014, is a challenge for Pakistan and we would like to exchange views with our Turkish friends on this as well
Speaking further on the Afghanistan issue, Sharif remarked “We are hopeful that with international community’s support that includes Turkish support, all state institutions in Afghanistan would be in a position to take full control of the country’s governance by 2014. We also hope that international community will continue to remain engaged and fulfill its commitments for the development of Afghanistan beyond 2014.There has been increasing tension recently in the Kashmir region and there are reports that India may be trying to exploit Middle Eastern turmoil for its own advantage and making moves to raise the stakes in Kashmir. Pakistan has always supported Turkish stance on the Cyprus issue and we are confident that Turkey will continue to support Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir issue.
He further addressed the issue of violence and terrorism that has plagued Pakistan in the recent years. “Pakistan needs the cooperation and support of international community and our neighbors for controlling funding, supply of arms and training to the terror networks. Soon after assuming office, I invited all political parties in the country to cooperate with the government in collectively addressing the problems facing the country. This offer of mutual consultation and reconciliation is not limited to political parties only. We are ready to hold dialogue with those who are ready to shun extremism. We have more than one option to deal with terrorists, but force will be our last option as we want to avoid further loss of innocent lives. The US drone strikes have proven to be counterproductive in Pakistan and we are left alone to deal with our terror problem by our Western allies, especially the US. The US strategy of using drone strikes in Pakistan against terrorists not only violates our sovereignty and international law but also causes further radicalization in the society. These strikes undermine our collective efforts to counter extremism and terrorism. We hope that that the US rethinks about the utility of the drone strikes.”
