Erdogan addresses business forum

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that being one of the top 20 economies of the world, Turkey was increasing investments in Pakistan. He said that they had brought down debt from 72 percent to 33 percent of GDP.

President Erdogan maintained that the number of tourists in Turkey has soared to 68 million from 13 million, resulting in an increase of $35 billion from $8.5 billion in tourism sector.

Addressing the Pakistan-Turkey Business Forum here on Friday, the Turkish president said that there was vast scope for increasing the current two-way trade volume of $800 million. "We want to take the commercial relations between the two brotherly countries to the same level as political ties," he added.

"Turkey and Pakistan who has a population of total 300 million should increase our trade volume," Erdogan stressed. Following the concluding session of the joint business forum, he said that both sides would hold six meetings of high level cooperation council.

"We want to extend our relations at the highest level," Erdogan added. The forum was held here during the visit of Turkish President Erdogan. The event was also attended by Adviser to the PM on Commerce Abdul Razzak Dawood, Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan, federal cabinet members and top businessmen from both the countries.

President Erdogan said the two countries could collaborate in a number of industries for their mutual benefit, adding that both countries should not allow protectionism or trade walls between them.

He further said that Turkey was the best destination for Pakistan tourists and also had quality and affordable modern medical facilities. In his address, Prime Minister Imran Khan invited Turkish business community to invest in various sectors of Pakistan especially tourism, mining and agriculture.

He said that the Turkish president could win the next general election in Pakistan. PM Khan said that not only government benches in Parliament but opposition parties also appreciated the speech of the Turkish president.

He also pointed out that Pakistan had a huge untapped potential in tourism. He added that Pakistan could greatly benefit from the Turkish experience in the development of necessary infrastructure for the promotion of tourism. "Pakistan also desires to learn from the experiences of Turkey in the fields of agriculture and mining," he stressed.

The prime minister assured to fully facilitate Turkish business community including their joint ventures with the Pakistani companies. Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Pakistan gained 20 places in the world ranking in ease of doing business.

"We have reduced regulations to facilitate businessmen," he added. The prime minister expressed the confidence that the business communities of both the countries would come forward to benefit from the political relationship that exist between the two countries.

Speaking on the occasion, Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood invited the Turkish investors to initiate joint ventures in Pakistan. He said both the countries had immense opportunities for cooperation.

Dawood said Pakistan and Turkey enjoyed excellent bilateral relations. He said both the countries had agreed to promote strategic relations between them.