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Pakistan has bright future despite all difficulties: Turkish PM
APP
ISLAMABAD - Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said that Pakistan has a bright future despite all difficulties and odds. “For the first time, there is a peaceful democratic transition in Pakistan. Transition of power through peaceful means is strength of Pakistan,” he remarked in a meeting with a delegation of the Council of Pakistan Newspapers Society (CPNE) led by its President Mujeebur Rehman Shami here at a local hotel late on Tuesday night. Prime Minister Davutoglu said the success of Pakistan was very important not only for Turkey but for the whole Muslim world as they consider Pakistan’s strength as their own strength. The Turkish prime minister termed his meetings with Pakistani leadership as “excellent” and said the two sides signed 10 accords of mutual cooperation in the areas of trade, energy, agriculture, transportation, culture and education. He praised the governance of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and hoped the economic reforms in the country would continue for a better tomorrow. The Turkish prime minister said that Pakistan and Turkey enjoy very warm and histories ties and stressed the need for pragmatic change in relations “through rational cooperation and not emotionalism”. He said since Turkey had expertise in locomotives, the two sides during the talks agreed to cooperate in the joint manufacturing. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Turkey would enhance the frequency of the flights of Turkish Airlines to Pakistan up to 35 including 21 to Karachi and seven each to Lahore and Islamabad. He said that Turkey was ready to send flights to all cities of Pakistan. He said during the talks, the two sides also discussed regional issues including Pakistan-India ties as well as the improved Pakistan-Afghanistan relations. He said that Turkey was happy to see a positive momentum between Pakistan and Afghanistan. He also mentioned the issue of terrorism being faced by the region and called for enhanced cooperation to tackle this menace. The Turkish prime minister also shared his views on the issues confronting the world in general and to Muslim world in particular with historical and geographical perspective. He highlighted human transformation, modernity and globalisation as the most emerging challenges of the era and these challenges need to be tackled through cultural values, democratic reforms, good governance, accountability etc. The Turkish prime minister described Allama Iqbal as his “master” and said Lahore is the heart of Pakistan as “Iqbal is also there”. He also briefed the editors of newspaper about the measures and reforms carried out by Turkey over the 12 years, which had turned around the Turkish economy and made it a “self-dependent” country. The Turkish prime minister said that he had a lot of respect for journalists and believed in the freedom of press, as he also worked as columnist from 1996 to 1999. Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal and senior officers of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting were also present on the occasion.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk