Erdogan vows to increase bilateral trade volume to $5 billion

ISLAMABAD: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to take Pak-Turkey bilateral trade volume to one billion dollars in the first phase and eventually to $5 billion later.

Addressing the Pakistan-Turkey Business Forum, the Turkish President said there is vast scope for increasing the current two way trade volume of 800 million dollars. He said we want to take the commercial relations between the two brotherly countries to the same level as political ties.

Erdogan said the two countries can collaborate in a number of industries for their mutual benefit, and should not allow protectionism or trade walls between them.

The Turkish President said his country is increasing investments in Pakistan. He said Turkey is one of the top twenty economies of the world and brought down its debt from 72 percent of GDP to 33 percent. He said Turkey increased tourists from 13 million to 68 million, resulting in increased earning to $35 billion from $8.5 billion in the sector.

Addressing the forum, Prime Minister Imran Khan invited the Turkish business community to invest in different sectors of Pakistan especially tourism, mining, and agriculture. He pointed out that Pakistan has a huge untapped potential in tourism including beaches and historic places.

The prime minister said Pakistan can greatly benefit from the Turkish experience in the development of necessary infrastructure for the promotion of tourism. He said Pakistan also desires to learn from the experiences of Turkey in the fields of agriculture and mining.

PM Imran Khan assured to fully facilitate the Turkish business community including their joint ventures with Pakistani companies. He said Pakistan has the most business-friendly government and gained twenty places in the world ranking in ease of doing business, while regulations have been eased to facilitate the businessmen.

Referring to the Turkish president, the prime minister said that Erdogan was immensely popular and admired in Pakistan. He commented that Erdogan could easily win the next election in Pakistan.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the country would start joint projects with Turkey. The current government would do everything to boost business between Pakistan and Turke, but this requires the support of the business community in Pakistan.

The prime minister expressed the confidence that the business communities of both countries will come forward to benefit from the excellent political relationship that exists between the two countries.

Speaking on the occasion, Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood invited the Turkish investors to initiate the joint projects in Pakistan and said both the countries have immense opportunities for cooperation. He said Pakistan and Turkey enjoy excellent bilateral relations and both countries have agreed to promote the strategic relations between them.

A meeting of the 6th Pakistan-Turkey Business and Investment Forum is underway. The first session of the forum will discuss investment opportunities in the country, while the second session will highlight Turkish companies’ investment experience in Pakistan. 

Read more: Turkish President to chair Pak-Turkey Business Forum today