February 13-14 visit: Businesspeople to accompany Erdogan

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and Ministry of Economic Affairs (MoEA) are said to be fighting each other for taking lead during the forthcoming visit of Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan on February 13-14, 2020, well-informed sources told Business Recorder.

The visit of Turkish President to Pakistan is to attend sixth round of Pakistan-Turkey High Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSSC). At least six Ministers, top level officials and private sector businessmen will also accompany the President. The last meeting of the HLSSC was held in January 2017 in Ankara when Nawaz Sharif was Prime Minister of Pakistan. However, the Council did not hold any meeting in 2018 and 2019.

Both countries will sign an agreement allowing Pakistanis who get Turkish citizenship to retain Pakistani nationality. Earlier there was no such provision. The sources said six working groups have been established under the HLSCC including one on Trade and Investment. The six working groups headed by the respective Ministers will hold separate meetings to evaluate progress on different decisions taken in the last meeting.

The government of Pakistan is expecting 50 or 60 private sector businessmen from Turkey, but the treatment meted out to existing Turkish investors makes it a challenge to attract new investors from Turkey.

The sources said, Turkish investors who faced a tough time in Pakistan with respect to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and provincial as well as federal governments have raised questions with Pakistani officials on the treatment they received. The examples of M/s Karkey rental power plant, M/s Zorlu and M/s Albayrak have been tabled before the Pakistani officials. M/s Albayark maintains that it spent millions of dollars in Pakistan but if the incumbent government does not want to allow it to work in Pakistan then it should convey this in black and white.

There are reports that Turkish companies have also raised concerns on the "efficiency" of provincial governments. The situation is worse in Punjab as compared to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

Pakistan and Turkey will also sign the Strategic Economic Framework (SEF) to replace the Joint Economic Commission (JEC). The sources said, Ministry of Economic Affairs which is dealing with Strategic Economic Framework (SEF) argues that it is its prerogative to have a say in the matter whereas Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to play the lead role in Pakistan-Turkey High Level Strategic Cooperation Council.

The Turkish government had presented its proposals on the Strategic Economic Framework (SEF) to the government of Pakistan. The decision to enter into an SEF was taken during the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Turkey. The Turkish Vice President, Fuat Oktay wrote to Finance Minister acknowledging the receipt of proposals from the Pakistani side and presenting additional proposals from the Turkish side. The proposals by the two countries cover trade, tourism, healthcare, hospitality industry, education, housing, agriculture, aviation, and banking.

The purpose of SEF is to enhance volume of bilateral trade five times which appears to be a very difficult task as Turkey is not willing to give any concession to Pakistan's textile sector. Towards this goal, the two governments are negotiating an FTA, a process which remains stalled. Trade facilitation is to be enhanced through improving connectivity through rail, air, road and sea. Cooperation between Pakistan Railways and TUDEMSAS (Turkish Railway Car Company) and TULOMSAS (Turkish Locomotive and Engine Company) for rail vehicle production maintenance repair and operation is also envisioned.

Turkey had also expressed an interest in developing legal framework for tourism infrastructure planning, allocation of public properties to the investors, determination and classification of qualities of hospitality facilities based on international standards. Turkey intends to provide technical support in order to enhance promotion, marketing of tourism, advertising image of the country and production.