Turkey Pakistan Currency Swap agreement

Istanbul November 1, 2011. President Asif Ali Zardari and President Abdullah Gul today witnessed the signing of the currency swap agreement between the two countries that President Zardari described as quantum jump in promoting trade and business relations between the two countries and the opening of the door for similar agreements with several other countries in the region.

Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar said that the agreement was inked by the governors of the state banks of the two countries as the two Presidents and a number of federal ministers from both countries witnessed.

He said that with the signing of the agreement the traders and businessmen of the two countries would be able to trade in their respective currencies obviating the need to look for dollars or other foreign currencies to do business.

The agreement was signed within a day of the two Presidents agreeing on Monday on the sidelines of the sixth trilateral meeting of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey that it should be finalized within a week, he said.

Earlier in the day the two Presidents also decided to work closely for further reducing the train travel time from Ankara to Islamabad to eleven days from the previously envisaged 16 days and to hold an international conference in January 2012 on connectivity in Pakistan to attract international entrepreneurs for the project.

They also agreed to enter into a joint venture for locomotive manufacture in Pakistan for the special cargo train service, Farhatullah Babar said.

Governor State Bank of Pakistan Mr. Yasin Anwar and Governor State Bank of Turkey Dr. Erdem Başçı signing an MoU on Currency Swap at Istanbul on 1 November 2011.