CPEC, Development Roads project to strengthen Pak-Turkiye bilateral trade volume, says senior Turkish MP
Celina Ali
Islamabad: Senior leader of Turkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party, Member of Parliament and Chairman of Pak-Turkiye Parliamentary Friendship Group, Ali Sahin, has said that China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Development Roads project will be helpful in increasing the volume of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Turkiye.
He said Pakistan had significance in the world especially among Muslim countries and emphasized the need to strengthen trade ties between Pakistan and Turkiye.
Ali Sahin was talking to Head of Turk Pak Women Forum along with a group of Pakistani journalists in Ankara on Sunday.
It is pertinent to mention that Ali Sahin also represents Turkiye in the NATO Parliament. He lived in Karachi from 1990 to 1997 for his higher education. He speaks Urdu fluently and during the interview he also spoke in Urdu.
Ali Sahin said that people in Karachi had given him a lot of love and there were no words to describe the love of the people of Pakistan for Turkiye.
He termed his stay in Pakistan a very fond and interesting experience.
In response to a question, Ali Sahin said the love and devotion that Pakistan has with Turkiye would not be found anywhere else.
“Pakistan and Turkiye are twin sons of the Muslim Ummah, Pakistan is my motherland and I am the son of Pakistan,” he said.
Sahin said the annual volume between Pakistan and Turkiye was 1.2 billion dollars which was very low.
“There is a need to remove some obstacles in the way of economic and trade relations between the two countries to further improve the relations between them and to establish peace and order in the Middle East,” he added.
He said that Turkiye and Pakistan could make joint efforts to resolve the problem of Muslim countries and Ummah through mutual cooperation and mechanism.
Ali Sahin said that Turkiye is working with Iraq, Qatar and United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the important project of development roads and emphasized that Pakistan, Iran and China should also become part of this trade road project.
He added that along with diplomatic and parliamentary relations, there is also a need to increase cultural relations.
He mentioned that Turkiye was considering to produce a drama on Mahmud Ghaznavi.
He favoured airing Pakistani dramas on Turkish channels and said that efforts would be made in this regard.
He said that the Pakistani embassy in Ankara was playing an important role in promoting bilateral relations, especially Pakistani ambassador, Dr. Yousuf Junaid was always in touch with the Turkish government to facilitate the diaspora.
He lauded the efforts of Turk Pakistan Women’s Forum for promoting relations and bringing the people of both countries closer.
