The epoch making accords

The four agreements and a memorandum of understanding (MoU), which Pakistan and Turkey signed in Ankara last Tuesday, subsequent to the talks between visiting Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf and Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, can certainly be described as epochal in their own way.
For one thing, it will be seen to have resulted from a motivated common pursuit of an effective role in meeting the grave challenges confronting not only the region but also a world in transition, which remains bedevilled by an unprecedented monstrosity of terror, with a queer mix of wanton violence and destruction, evidently unleashed from the ill-conceived thrust of religious extremism.
Many and varied though have been the factors, including political blunders on the part of the big powers over a long period, the manner in which it has lately developed has not only upset international political arrangements but also brought to the fore increasing threats of economic upheaval.
All this, put together, should adequately explain the anxiety of Pakistan and Turkey to save the situation from worsening through enlightened efforts for increasing purposeful co-operation over a widening range, encompassing a whole spectrum crucial to the dangerously fleeting times, with due focus on the threats to the two countries.
As such, essentially based on the unmistakable urge to further boost economic and political ties, the accords not only seek to fight terrorism and organised crime from a unified approach but also to foster more co-operation in defence, banking and health sectors and preferential trade, with a keen eye on comprehensive economic partnership.
Needless to point out, emphasis on increased economic co-operation by the two leaders should leave little to doubt in the wake of President Musharraf's observation that the purpose of agreements concluded was to avail of the huge potential for developing bilateral trade to the level of $1 billion by 2005.
This should become all the more understandable from sustained efforts the two countries continued making to widen the areas of mutual economic co-operation with a marked focus on enhancement of trade.
It will be noted that both Pakistan and Turkey have succeeded in attaining significant success through efforts in economic development over the past decades.
However, like some of the other countries, they too could not see the gains of progress adequately reflected in their foreign trade, which happens to serve as an unmistakable evidence of economic progress.
It was largely their awakening to this shortcoming that found them decades back engaged in efforts, along with Iran, to catch up with the then developing trend of regional economic co-operation.
This, of course, has reference, first to the random initiation of Regional Co-operation for Development, an alliance, which could not last long for political and other reasons.
However, seized with the idea, the three countries later resumed pursuing the effort by shaping the Economic Co-operation Organisation with a renewed emphasis on regional co-operation to ensure reflection of development in gains from increasing regional trade.
Although ECO got a shot in the arm when a number of Central Asian republics joined it in the wake of dismemberment of the former Soviet Union, the progress in the new effort has remained obstructed by the fast changing international economic scene from the rich countries' bid for retaining their hold on the poor and developing nations the cover of globalisation, a process that has continued adding variously to the latter's predicament.
That notwithstanding these discouraging features, catching up with the new trends in bilateral co-operation from a realistic approach, Pakistan and Turkey have continued moving towards increasingly purposeful co-operation with encouraging results from a multi-pronged thrust.
Reference, in this regard, may be made, among other developments, to the signing of a protocol on economic and technical co-operation last year, to set the pace for addition of new dimensions to mutually gainful relations between the two countries.
Earlier, the Turkish President's visit to Pakistan in 2001 had demonstrated the enthusiasm of his country for solidarity with Pakistan.
Mention may also be made here of the single country exhibitions held by them with due focus on increasing trade and fostering business co-operation in the private sector.
These efforts have also culminated in the conclusion of agreements on customs tariff, technical co-operation in formulation of quality standards and the development of small and medium enterprises along with a memorandum of understanding on scientific research.
Their resolve to boost bilateral ties in economic, trade and other fields, can also be seen reflected in the memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on road transport, control on illicit drug trafficking and protection of environment, which were concluded during the Turkish Prime Minister's last visit to this country.
It will thus be seen that moving steadfastly towards more purposeful co-operation, the two countries are poised to meet the challenges on a widening front from a sustained enlightened endeavour.