President Asif Ali Zardari arrives here on Sunday afternoon to attend a trilateral summit meeting with his Turkish and Afghan counterparts, aimed at steadily enhancing relations among the three countries and to continue efforts for bringing a lasting, durable peace to Afghanistan.
Besides participating in this fourth trilateral summit among the three Muslim countries, President Zardari will also represent Pakistan at a regional summit of the six countries bordering Afghanistan during his four-day stay in this historic Turkish Metropolis, lying astride the two continents of Europe and Asia.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is also due here on Sunday as the three heads of state, including Turkish President Abdullah Gul, are set to huddle together for the trilateral summit scheduled for Monday with Regional Summit, to be called Istanbul Summit, involving seven countries, to follow a day later.
It was agreed in the previous summits to consolidate ties among Pakistan, Turkey and Afghanistan in the political and economic fields and on security issues while the latest meeting amongst the three heads of state will include the sector of education as part of expanded co-operation between them, diplomatic sources said.
Having cordial relations with both Pakistan and Afghanistan, Turkey has emerged as great facilitator of bringing harmony between Pakistan and Afghanistan and also to strengthen its ties with them, the sources said. Asif Zardari, who stole the limelight in the previous two trilateral summits as the President of a newly-democratic country, will also hold discussions on consolidating bilateral relations with Turkey as he calls on the host country's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan soon after his arrival here.
Sources said that bilateral relations will also claim a lion's share of discussions when the Pakistani President meets his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul the following day. Of special significance in the backdrop of Pakistan-Turkey relations will be a 20-minute presentation on the ambitious project of laying a railway line from Islamabad to Istanbul, via Tehran.
This project will be of much value for Pakistan as volume of trade will be increased not only with Iran and Turkey, but also with all European countries, Pakistan's Ambassador to Turkey, Tariq Azizuddin told APP. Transportation of Pakistani goods to Iran, Turkey and onwards to Europe will become cheaper as compared to sending them through shipping, said Tariq who faced an ordeal in captivity when he was ambassador to Kabul.
He said that President Zardari, who assumed office as the head of state after restoration of democracy in the country, had achieved concrete progress on enhancing relations with Turkey and Afghanistan with his participation in the second trilateral summit at Istanbul in December 2008 and at the third edition at Ankara in April last year.
Pakistan's delegation will comprise the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Malik Ammad Khan, Secretary Foreign Affairs and high security officials, Ambassador Tariq said. To a question, he said that the summit here were in no way linked to the upcoming London Conference on Afghanistan. A joint declaration will be adopted on conclusion of the trilateral summit while the three Presidents will also address a press conference together. President Zardari will return home on Wednesday.
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