ANKARA (Turkey): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday highlighted the convergence between Pakistan and Turkey on a range of regional and international issues and stressed the need for continued close coordination.

The prime minister expressed these views in a meeting with Foreign Minister of Turkey Mevlüt Çavusoglu, in Ankara.

While receiving the Turkish foreign minister, the prime minister noted that the bilateral relations were exceptionally warm as the people of the two countries shared special bonds that dated back centuries.

He recalled the support extended by the two countries to each other in times of need.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif deeply lauded the personal contribution of the Turkish foreign minister in advancing bilateral relations and for playing an important role in strengthening existing institutional mechanisms of cooperation between the two countries. In this context, the importance of the 7th session of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC) was highlighted and the substantive preparations for it were reviewed.

The prime minister particularly underscored the importance of increasing bilateral trade volume to $5 billion over the next three years.

He also underlined the resolve to fully facilitate Turkish companies in Pakistan and invited them to invest in diverse sectors including food processing, agriculture, automotives, information technology, hydel, solar, and wind energy.

On Afghanistan, the prime minister stressed the importance of addressing the dire humanitarian situation, the release of Afghan assets to help stabilise the economy, and continued efforts for sustainable peace and stability in the country.