His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey paid an official visit to Pakistan from 23-24 December, 2013, at the invitation of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. He was accompanied by a high level delegation including Minister of Economy and the Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communication. A large number of prominent entrepreneurs and industrialists from leading Turkish companies in the sectors of energy, construction, urban development and municipal services, public transport etc. accompanied Prime Minister Erdogan for participation in the Business Forum.
2. On the first leg of his tour, Prime Minister Erdogan visited Lahore where he addressed a well-attended Business Forum. Leading business community from Turkey and all across Pakistan participated in the Forum. The same evening, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif hosted a reception for the visiting Prime Minister and his delegation.
3. In Islamabad, Prime Minister Erdogan called on President Mamnoon Hussain. Prime Minister Erdogan held tete-a-tete with Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. The exclusive talks were followed by in-depth delegation level talks.
4. Pakistan and Turkey enjoy unique relations which are unparalleled in the world. Our bilateral ties are characterized by time-tested bonds of affinity, mutual respect and solidarity and draw their strength from shared love of our two peoples.
5. The two Prime Ministers exchanged views across the whole gamut of bilateral, regional and international issues in a warm and friendly manner. During talks, both the Prime Ministers;
Expressed their satisfaction at the progress in our strategic partnership;
Reiterated their resolve to comprehensively upgrade bilateral relations across all areas of mutual interest, especially economic and commercial;
Emphasised their firm belief in the strength of democracy and expressed determination to cooperate to achieve democratic ideals to the benefit of the brotherly people of the two countries;
Reaffirmed their abiding commitment for the socio-economic development of the people and to follow policies that bring qualitative improvement in the quality of life of people and prosperity to their respective countries;
Condemned terrorism and renewed their resolve to increase bilateral cooperation against terrorism and organized crime; and
Expressed their desire to enhance cooperation in social sectors especially culture, education and tourism. Improved cooperation in social sector fields will also serve as a vehicle for greater people to people relations between the two countries.
6. During the visit, three MoUs and one Cooperation Protocol were signed between Pakistan and Turkey.
7. During the visit, it was also agreed to;
Maintain active political consultative process as well as regular exchange of high level visits alongside visits of parliamentarians, businessmen, civil society and media representatives;
Follow up implementation of decisions taken at the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council Forum;
Conclude Pakistan-Turkey Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) by the first half of 2014;
Facilitate investments by the private sector in both countries. Pakistan would especially encourage Turkish private sector for investments in the key sectors of energy, especially coal, hydroelectric and wind, infrastructure including motorways, roads and airports, low-cost housing and urban development & municipal services like public transport and solid waste management;
Encourage their respective state and private banks to open branches in Pakistan and Turkey;
Ensure regular operations of Istanbul-Islamabad Container train for enhanced on-land connectivity between Pakistan and Turkey;
Further strengthen our existing cooperation and partnership in security and counter-terrorism related issues;
Further deepen our defence cooperation through exploring the possibility of joint defence production and allied Research and Development;
Learn from each other’s best practices in skill development and vocational training programs;
Enhance cooperation between educational institutions of the two countries. The two countries agreed to increase the number of scholarships to students to pursue undergraduate, graduate and post graduate level studies in both countries in the fields of engineering, technology, medicine and management sciences;
Promote cooperation in the field of tourism and preservation and restoration of historical and archaeological sites; and
Closely coordinate and consult each other bilaterally as well as multilaterally to promote regional peace and security.
8. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan invited Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif to visit Turkey which the latter graciously accepted.
Islamabad
24 December 2013
24 December 2013
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