Pakistan, Turkey vow to expand cooperation for regional progress

ISTANBUL, Nov 1 (APP): Pakistan and Turkey on Tuesday vowed to further expand their strong, friendly and brotherly ties to play more active and pivotal role in peace, progress and stability in the region and for the welfare of the people of two countries. During the bilateral talks held here Tuesday, starting with a one-on-one  meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul, and later at the delegate-level, both the countries agreed to enhance their cooperation in trade, economic, education, communication, transportation and other fields. Both the Presidents held one-on-one meeting for half an hour and later were joined by the members of their respective delegations.This was the second meeting between the two Presidents in two days, the last one held on Monday that had lasted for two hours.

Pakistan’s side included Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Governor State Bank Yaseen Anwar, Chairman Board of Investment Salim H. Mandviwala, Secretary General to President Salman Farooqui and Spokesperson to President Farhatullah Babar. Pakistan’s ambassador to Turkey Muhammad Haroon Shaukat and other officials.
The Turkish President was assisted by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and other officials.
Both the sides discussed all aspects to further improve bilateral relations in different fields.
During their wide-ranging talks, they expressed their desire to diverse relations between the two countries for mutual benefit.
Spokesperson to President Farhatullah Babar giving details of the bilateral talks said President Zardari emphasized that special relations between the two countries should be sustained by more parliamentary exchanges and people-to-people contacts.
He said President thanked Turkey for its support to Pakistan’s candidature for UN Security Council and also during recent floods in Sindh.
During the bilateral talks, President Zardari said he was greatly encouraged by the successful outcome of the inaugural session of the High Level Cooperation Council (HLCC) and called for an effective follow-up for timely implementation of the decisions taken at its first session.
Farhatullah Babar quoted the President as saying that the level of bilateral trade and investment between the two countries remains far below the real potential and it should be further increased.
Both the countries agreed to remove trade barriers, ease visa restrictions and take steps to increase bilateral trade to two billion dollars next years.
President Zardari urged that there is a need to fast track the conclusion of Pakistan-Turkey PTA.
Both the President said it is an encouraging sign that private sectors are collaborating in the energy, construction, food processing and rubber industry.
They agreed that there should be further joint ventures and investment in key sectors such as infrastructure, engineering, energy, agriculture, telecommunications and mining.
President Zardari said Pakistan would welcome Turkish investment in hydro-power generation and alternate energy projects.
Regarding banking sector, Farhatullah Babar said both the countries agreed to open more branches of their banks in each other countries for the benefit of the business community.
The President said Pakistan is ready to implement ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA) together with Turkey. Implementation of ECOTA is held up since last year awaiting submission of lists of tradable goods by some member countries.
He thanked President Abdullah Gul for his personal interest in the “Gul train” project which would revolutionize cargo and transit facilities between the two countries.
Referring to cooperation in education, he said Pakistani universities are ready to establish “Techno-Parks” in Pakistan in collaboration with the Turkish universities.
He lauded Turkey’s efforts to host the Istanbul Regional Conference.
Pakistan envisages this Conference as a platform to express region’s solidarity and support for Afghanistan.
The President extended invitation to the Turkish President to visit Pakistan.
The President also expressed grief over loss of precious lives and destruction of property in the recent quake in Turkey.

Trilateral meeting of Ministers of Interior of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey

Pakistan’s Minister for Interior Mr. A. Rehman Malik, Turkish Minister İdris Naim Şahin and Afghanistan’s Minister for Interior Bismillah Khan Mohammadi during a meeting at Istanbul, 1 November 2011

Military Chiefs of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey

Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani meeting with military chiefs of Turkey and Afghanistan at Istanbul, 1 November 2011

Pakistan, Turkey agree to deepen, broaden and strengthen partnership in every field

BY Fayyaz Chaudhry
ISTANBUL, (Turkey), Oct 31 (APP): President Asif Ali Zardari and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul on Monday agreed to finalize the currency swap agreement between the two countries this week to further deepen, broaden and strengthen their partnership in every field. The two Presidents also reviewed progress on the implementation of the ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA), Gul Train, the High Level Cooperation Council
(HLCC) between the two countries and the setting up of Techno Parks in Pakistan in collaboration with Turkish universities in their wide-ranging bilateral talks in Istanbul on Monday, on the sidelines of trilateral summit on Afghanistan.
President Zardari was assisted in the talks by Secretary General to the President M. Salman Farooqui and Pakistan’s Ambassador in Turkey Muhammad Haroon Shaukat, while Turkish Ambassador in Pakistan Mr. Babur Hizlan assisted President Gul.
Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar giving the details of the bilateral talks said that the currency swap agreement will enable the traders and businessmen of the two countries to trade in their respective currencies without drawing from their dollar based foreign exchange reserves. This will reduce the pressure on the foreign exchange reserves of the two countries on the one hand and give a quantum jump to the bilateral
trade between the two countries he said. Farhatullah Babar said that the President has been looking at boosting
Pakistan’s trade as a means to generate economic activity in the country for job creation to wean away the youth from falling prey to the temptations offered by extremists and militants to unemployed
youth.
As Pakistan’s efforts to seek increased market access to European and US markets are still underway President Zardari has turned to regional markets to boost Pakistan’s trade he said. Similar currency swap agreements are also envisaged with some other countries in the region, he said. During the talks President Zardari said that the level of bilateral trade and investment between the two countries remains far below the real potential and there was a need to increase bilateral trade to the level which commensurate with the level of their political relationship.
The existing bilateral trade of one billion dollars should be doubled to two billion dollars next year, the President opined.
President Zardari said with a view to achieve this target, there is a need to remove trade barriers and ease visa restrictions.  The signing of an agreement on currency swap arrangement is an important step in

trade facilitation.
The President also called for fast-tracking the conclusion of
Pakistan-Turkey Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA).
The President said that it is an encouraging sign that private sectors are collaborating in the energy, construction, food processing and rubber industry, adding, “We would like to see further joint ventures
and investment in key sectors such as infrastructure, engineering, energy, agriculture, telecommunications and mining.”
Pakistan would welcome Turkish investment in hydro-power generation, alternate energy and rental thermal plants, he said.
The President also called for opening of more Turkish bank branches in Pakistan and vice versa.
The President called for working together by all ECO countries to implement ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA) and said that Pakistan was ready to work with Turkey.
He thanked President Abdullah Gul for his personal interest in the “Gul train” project which would revolutionize cargo and transit facilities between the two countries and called for taking all the necessary steps to fast-track the implementation of this key initiative.
He said Pakistan Railways would provide full support to the newly established private company TOBB Logistics Inc. for operating and marketing trains in an efficient manner. Referring to cooperation in education, he said Pakistani universities are ready to establish “Techno-Parks” in Pakistan in collaboration with the Turkish universities.
President Zardari said he was greatly encouraged by the successful outcome of the inaugural session of the High Level Cooperation Council (HLCC) and called for an effective follow-up for timely implementation of the decisions taken at its first session.
The President said, “We are looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister Erdogan’s visit to Pakistan later this year to co-chair the second session of High Level Cooperation Council.”
Regional situation and situation in the Middle East also came under discussion in the meeting.
The President lauded Turkey’s efforts to host the Istanbul Regional Conference. He thanked Turkey for its support to Pakistan’s candidature to win the seat for UN Security Council as well as for Turkey’s assistance for flood affected people in Sindh. He also expressed grief over the loss of precious lives and destruction of property in the recent quake in Turkey. President Zardari also extended invitation to the Turkish President to visit Pakistan.

Turkish President hosts dinner in honour of President Zardari, President Karzai

ISTANBUL, (Turkey), Oct 31 (APP): President Abdullah Gul, the host for the sixth trilateral summit on Afghanistan, hosted a dinner reception here on Monday in honour of President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai here at the Presidential Palace, Tarabya. The
three presidents discussed matters of mutual interest, relations between the three countries and issues to be discussed in the sixth trilateral summit.

President Zardari, President Karzai in Istanbul to attend trilateral summit

ISTANBUL, (Turkey), Oct. 31 (APP): All arrangements have been finalized by Turkish government to hold sixth trilateral summit here on Tuesday to discuss the Afghanistan issue with a view to find a peaceful solution and ensure peace and security in the region. The trilateral summit being hosted by Turkish President Abdullah Gul would be attended by President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who have already arrived here. The President will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Minister for Defence Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar and Minister for Interior Rehman Malik and other officials in this summit. The trilateral summit will start with opening remarks by Turkish President Abdullah Gul followed by the addresses of President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
General Necdet Ozal, Chief of General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces will participate in a separate session regarding the Turkey-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Meeting, among the highest level military officials from the three countries.
The Afghanistan-Pakistan-Turkey trilateral process was launched in April 2007 and the subsequent Trilateral Summits were hosted by Turkey in December 2008, April 2009, January 2010 and December 2010.
The focus of the these Trilateral Summits were to promote cooperation in peace, security, stability and economic development in the region.
A Joint Working Group with the participation of high level representatives of the three countries has also been constituted and was given mandate to monitor the progress of implementation of the agreed matters.
The previous summits also recommended to establish Joint Working Group in areas of comprehensive dialogue at all levels, military cooperation, security cooperation in counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics, energy, transport corridors and socio-economic projects.

President Zardari arrives in Istanbul to attend trilateral summit on Afghanistan

ISTANBUL, (Turkey), Oct. 30 (APP): President Asif Ali Zardari arrived here on Sunday on the invitation of Turkish President Abdullah Gul to participate in the sixth trilateral summit being hosted by Turkey to find a peaceful and everlasting solution of Afghanistan issue. President Zardari was accorded warm welcome at Ataturk International Airport and he was received by Governor of Istanbul Hseyin Avni Mutlu, Pakistani Ambassador to Turkey Muhammad Haroon Shaukat, Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan  M. Babur Hizlan and officials of Pakistan Embassy. The President was accompanied by Minister for Defence Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar and Minister for Interior Rehman Malik. President Zardari will hold bilateral talks with Turkish President Abdullah Gul besides participating in the trilateral summit.

The trilateral summit, will start on November 1, with opening remarks by Turkish President Hamid Karzai, followed by the address by President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
General Necdet Ozal, Chief of General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces will participate in a session regarding the Turkey-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Meeting among the highest level military officials from the three countries.
The trilateral summit will be followed by Istanbul Conference for Afghanistan being held on November 2,  which will be attended by foreign ministers of 14 neighbouring countries of Afghanistan, representatives of other countries and international organizations.
The Trilateral Summit is taking place at a time when Pakistan-Afghanistan relations are facing problems mainly due to accusatory statements emanating from Kabul. This summit is therefore, seen as an ice breaking meeting.
The Afghanistan-Pakistan-Turkey trilateral process was launched in April 2007 and the subsequent Trilateral Summits were hosted by Turkey in December 2008, April 2009, January 2010 and December 2010.
The focus of the first Trilateral Summit was on cooperation in promoting peace, security, stability and economic development in the region. The leaders agreed to support moderation and fight all forms of extremism and terrorism through coordinated action.
The first Summit established a Joint Working Group with the participation of high level representatives of the three countries and was given mandate to monitor the progress of implementation of the agreed matters.
During the second Trilateral Summit the leaders agreed that security, peace and development were interlinked. They underscored the need for promoting economic and trade cooperation between the three countries and also for regional and trans-regional cooperation.     
The recommendations of the Joint Working Group in areas of comprehensive dialogue at all levels, military cooperation, security cooperation in counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics, energy, transport corridors and socio-economic projects were approved by the Summit.
An Istanbul Forum bringing together corporate leaders of the three countries was also established on the sidelines of Trilateral Summit in December 2008.At the third Trilateral Summit, the leaders were joined by the Military and Intelligence Chiefs of the three countries. The three Ministers of Foreign Affairs also held a separate meeting on this occasion.  
The leaders decided to expand and strengthen the trilateral cooperation committing all their relevant institutions.
At the fourth Trilateral Summit, Turkey’s primary focus was on cooperation in Education and an Education Ministers’ meeting preceded the Summit. 
The meeting adopted a joint statement which contained recommendations for the further development of mutual friendship and cooperation between future generations.
The military and intelligence chiefs of the three countries also held meetings on the margins of the 4th Trilateral Summit.  These meetings recommended joint trainings in anti-terrorism efforts and sharing of best practices in this area. 
The three Presidents stressed that closer economic cooperation especially in the fields of energy and transportation should be focused in the next Trilateral Summit.
The 5th Trilateral Summit was hosted by Turkey in Istanbul on 24 December, 2010. The President attended the Summit. The primary focus of the Fifth Trilateral Summit was on political reconciliation and development dimensions in Afghanistan.
In the run-up to the 5th Summit, Pakistan had requested Turkey to expand the areas of cooperation beyond security and military and suggested due emphasis on “development”. Five documents in the areas of video-conferencing, disaster management, cultural cooperation, media cooperation and capacity building of civilian security agencies were signed at the conclusion of the Summit.
The joint statement issued after 5th trilateral summit affirmed trans-regional development as the key priority area as well as multi-dimensional trilateral cooperation through public-private partnership as an important element of the trilateral process.
As a follow-up, the National Disaster Management  Authority (NDMA) of Pakistan has completed all codal formalities with regard to the MoU signed at the 5th Summit and it is now at implementation stage. In line with this MoU, a Disaster management Simulation Exercise will be held at Istanbul on 16-17 November this year.
In line with the Letter of Intent in the field of Mass Media, the news agencies of Pakistan, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) and Turkey (Anatolia) have signed a Cooperation Agreement on October 12, 2011. The other documents signed in the field of police cooperation and culture are being processed by the concerned ministries.
The President will hold a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Abdullah Gul at Istanbul on October 31 and also attend a tˆte-…-tˆte dinner the same evening hosted by the Turkish President for Pakistani and Afghan Presidents.
The Trilateral Summit will be held on Tuesday and in the forenoon there will be bilateral meetings of the Turkish President separately with Pakistan and Afghan Presidents while in the afternoon there will be two sessions of the Trilateral Summit - one Limited Session and the other General Session.
On the sidelines of the Summit, trilateral meetings of Interior Ministers, Army Chiefs and Intelligence Chiefs from the three countries, are also scheduled to be held.
The meetings of Istanbul Forum (business) and Women Entrepreneurs Round Table will also take place.
The 6th Trilateral Summit is expected to focus primarily on thaw in relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The issues expected to come under discussion are political and security situation in
Afghanistan, transition, peace and reconciliation process, cooperation and development, and the Istanbul Regional Conference.Pakistan has all along supported President Karzai’s peace efforts and supported an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process of reconciliation.
However, Pakistan does not aspire to determine the political dispensation in Kabul. On Afghanistan’s request, Pakistan has established a two-tier Joint Commission to support the reconciliation process. The Commission is co-chaired by Prime Minister Gilani and President Karzai. 
Pakistan is also engaged with Afghanistan and the US trilaterally in the ‘Core Group’ as part of the efforts to support the peace process. 
The assassination of Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani on 20th September 2011 in Kabul is a set back to the peace and reconciliation process, which can have far-reaching consequences for the future outlook of Afghanistan and the region and it is expected that the sixth trilateral summit can play  vital role in
improving the peace, security and development in Afghanistan and in the region.
Pakistan attaches importance to the various Trilateral, Quadrilateral and other processes relating to Afghanistan and will continue to contribute constructively to all endeavours and initiatives in this regard.
Pakistan hoped that Istanbul Conference on Afghanistan would provide a platform to express region’s solidarity and support for Afghanistan in its endeavours to establish peace and stability; an inclusive process of national reconciliation; consolidate its sovereignty and territorial integrity; and achieve socio-economic prosperity by undertaking mutually beneficial economic cooperation with neighbouring states, the region and the world.
The diplomatic sources told APP in Istanbul that Pakistan supports efforts for a secure, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan contributing to stability, security and prosperity in the region.
They said regional support for this undertaking is of particular significance.  The concept of developing a harmonious and mutually beneficial partnership between Afghanistan and the region is important.
They opined that the Istanbul Conference should manifest in tangible terms its support for Afghanistan on the basis of established principles of inter-state conduct enshrined in the UN Charter and the International Law as well as material, financial and technical support for socio-economic development.
They said in dealing with the existing challenges, the Conference should also affirm support for eliminating all forms and manifestation of terrorism as well as production and trafficking of drugs in psychotropic substances.
The diplomatic sources said it is important that unity of purpose and the region’s support for Afghanistan must be ensured through “consensus decision making”.
They were of the view that the existing regional organizations and arrangements may also be urged to prioritize support in their respective domains for achieving the afore-stated objectives of a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan in a stable, peaceful and prosperous region.

President Zardari’s visit to Turkey to promote bilateral relations

ISTANBUL Oct. 30 (APP) Pakistan and Turkey are expected to sign a currency swap agreement during the visit of President Asif Ali Zardari to Istanbul.This was stated by Pakistan’s Ambassador to Turkey Muhammad Haroon Shaukat during an interview with APP’s special correspondent Fayyaz Chaudhry in Istanbul on Sunday before the arrival of President Asif Ali Zardari.The agreement would allow the two countries to move towards arrangements to do trade in local currencies which will ease pressure on the foreign exchange.The ambassador said negotiations between Pakistan and Turkey are also progressing well for a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA). He said the financial and business institutions of the two countries are promoting cooperation to facilitate the business community. The ambassador expressed satisfaction over growing bilateral trade between the two countries and said it had shown an increase of 50 per cent last year reaching close to one billion dollars. He said Pakistan is making sincere efforts to further facilitate business community of the two countries to increase the trade volume as both the countries are eyeing at reaching the target of two billion dollars bilateral trade by next year. Replying to a question, the ambassador acknowledged that the Turkey has placed safeguard duties on three products but added that these were not Pakistan specific. He pointed out that Turkey was facing trade deficit of 100 billion dollars a year and the safeguards are aimed at reducing the gap and providing protection to the domestic sector. The ambassador said Pakistan has asked the Turkish leadership to reduce duties of some of the products being imported from Pakistan to improve bilateral trade. Haroon Shaukat expressed the confidence that visit of the President Asif Ali Zardari to Turkey will add new dimensions to the already closer strategic relations and economic collaborations between the two counties. He described the visit of President very important in the given regional situation as President’s visit reflects Pakistan’s keen interest for promotion of peace and security in Afghanistan and strengthening of exemplary relations with Turkey. He said the visit of President is significantly important as besides discussion with his Turkish counterpart, he will attend the sixth trilateral summit being hosted by Turkey for peace, security and development in Afghanistan. He said President Zardari will have two meetings with President Abdullah Gul during his visit besides interaction with local business community and media. Photo caption: President of Pakistan H.E. Mr. Asif Ali Zardari arriving at Ataturk International Airport on 30 October 2011. He was received by Governor Istanbul Mr. Huseyin Avni Mutlu (seen on his right) received the President

President Zardari to arrive Istanbul on Sunday to attend trilateral summit on Afghanistan

By Fayyaz Chaudhry ISTANBUL, (Turkey), Oct 29 (APP): President Asif Ali Zardari will arrive here on Sunday on the invitation of Turkish President Abdullah Gul to participate in the sixth trilateral summit being hosted by Turkey to find a peaceful and everlasting solution to Afghanistan’s problems. President Zardari will be accorded warm welcome on his arrival.  He will also hold bilateral talks with Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the sidelines of the summit. The trilateral summit will start with opening remarks by Turkish President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday which will be followed by the address by President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai. General Necdet Ozal, Chief of General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces will brief the participants of the summit regarding the Turkey-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Meeting held between the highest level military officials from the three countries. The trilateral summit will be followed by “Istanbul Conference for Afghanistan” which will be attended by foreign ministers of 14 neighbouring countries of Afghanistan, representatives of other countries and international organizations. The Trilateral Summit is taking place at a time when Pakistan-Afghanistan relations are facing problems mainly due to accusatory statements emanating from Kabul. This summit is therefore, seen as an ice breaking meeting. The Afghanistan-Pakistan-Turkey trilateral process was launched in April 2007 and the subsequent Trilateral Summits were hosted by Turkey in December 2008, April 2009, January 2010 and December 2010. The focus of the first Trilateral Summit was on cooperation in promoting peace, security, stability and economic development in the region. The leaders agreed to support moderation and fight all forms of extremism and terrorism through coordinated action. President Zardari will hold a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Abdullah Gul at Istanbul on October 31 and also attend a tˆte-…-tˆte dinner the same evening hosted by the Turkish President for Pakistani and Afghan Presidents. The Trilateral Summit will be held on Tuesday and in the forenoon there will be bilateral meetings of the Turkish President separately with Pakistan and Afghan presidents while in the afternoon there will be two sessions of the Trilateral Summit - one Limited Session and the other General Session. On the sidelines of the summit, trilateral meetings of interior ministers, army chiefs and intelligence chiefs from the three countries, are also scheduled to be held. The meetings of Istanbul Forum (business) and Women Entrepreneurs Roundtable will also take place. The 6th Trilateral Summit is expected to focus primarily on thaw in relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The issues expected to come under discussion are political and security situation in Afghanistan, transition, peace and reconciliation process, cooperation and development, and the Istanbul Regional Conference. Pakistan has all along supported President Karzai’s peace efforts and supported an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process of reconciliation. However, Pakistan does not aspire to determine the political dispensation in Kabul. At Afghanistan’s request Pakistan has established a two-tier Joint Commission to support the reconciliation process. The Commission is co-chaired by Prime Minister Gilani and President Karzai. Pakistan is also engaged with Afghanistan and the US trilaterally in the ‘Core Group’ as part of the efforts to support the peace process. The conference would provide a platform to express solidarity and support for Afghanistan in its endeavours to establish peace and stability. Turkey is hosting the trilateral regional summit between Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey. Pakistan envisages this conference as a platform to express regional solidarity and support for Afghanistan in its endeavours to establish peace and stability; take forward an inclusive process of national reconciliation; consolidate its sovereignty and territorial integrity; and achieve socio-economic prosperity by undertaking mutually beneficial economic cooperation with neighbouring states, the region and the world. Pakistan supports efforts for a secure, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan contributing to stability, security and prosperity in the region. Regional support for this undertaking is of particular significance and the concept of developing a harmonious and mutually beneficial partnership between Afghanistan and the region is important. Pakistan believes the Istanbul Conference should manifest in tangible terms its support for Afghanistan on the basis of established principles of inter-state conduct enshrined in the UN Charter and the International Law as well as material, financial and technical support for socio-economic development. In dealing with the existing challenges, the conference would also affirm support for eliminating all forms and manifestation of terrorism as well as production and trafficking of drugs in psychotropic substances. It is important that unity of purpose and the region’s support for Afghanistan must be ensured through ‘consensus decision making’. The existing regional organizations and arrangements will also be urged to prioritize support in their respective domains for achieving the afore-stated objectives of a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan in a stable, peaceful and prosperous region. The assassination of Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani on September 20, 2011 in Kabul is a setback to the peace and reconciliation process, which can have far-reaching consequences for the future outlook of Afghanistan and the region and it is expected that this trilateral summit can play vital role in improving the peace, security and development in Afghanistan and in the region.

Turkey as seen from Pakistan

KARACHI -- I have been giving a marathon of speeches in Pakistan, and in the past few days have spoken in three or four different venues on the transformations taking place in Turkey, Turkish foreign policy, Turkish NGOs, relations between Turkey and the West, the Arab Spring from the Turkish perspective and the relationship between secularism, Islam and democracy in Turkey. read more