News
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Zardari, Gul vow meaningful role for peace, stability* Turkish president assures support, cooperation in all spheres
* Zardari and Malaysian PM vow to enhance bilateral trade
MAKKAH: President Asif Zardari and Turkish President Abdullah Gul met on Wednesday on the sidelines of the fourth extraordinary Islamic summit in Makkah and exchanged views on wide-ranging bilateral, regional and international issues, situation in Middle East with focus on Syria and the reconciliation and peace process in Afghanistan.
Zardari praised the Turkish leadership for the positive role it is playing for bringing peace and stability in Middle East and said that Pakistan considered Turkey as an important player in the region and expressed hope that it would continue playing its role in the regional peace and development.
About the situation in North Africa and Middle East, President Zardari said that as pillars of stability in the broader region, Pakistan and Turkey were well placed to play a positive role in dealing with the prevailing situation in the region and Middle East. The two leaders were unanimous in the view that both countries had significant and important responsibility in the comity of nations and that both had unanimity of views on all the regional and international issues.
They said that both the countries were facing many challenges to ensure peace, security and stability in the region but vowed to confront all the challenges and contribute in a meaningful way to the cause of peace and stability of the region.
Discussing Pak-Turkey bilateral ties, the president said that the mechanism of High Level Cooperation Council (HLCC) between Pakistan and Turkey was geared towards further deepening the bilateral cooperation and enhancing its scope to the benefit of peoples of both countries. Turkey and Pakistan enjoy exemplary relations which go beyond the governments and are rooted in common history, culture and ethos of our people, he said.
He said further establishment of the HLCC between the two countries symbolised the close and special nature of Pak-Turkey bilateral ties, adding that it also reflects the shared common vision of the leadership to give a future-oriented strategic outlook to our time tested bilateral partnership. The Turkish president assured full support and cooperation from Turkey to Pakistan in all spheres. He appreciated Pakistan's sacrifices in the fight against terrorism and also assured full help to Pakistan in its efforts in the war against terror. He said the close cooperation at various levels between Pakistan and Turkey would further strengthen bilateral ties.
They hoped for early implementation of bilateral agreements signed during Turkish Prime Minister's recent visit to Pakistan.
Separately, Zardari and Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Wednesday vowed to enhance bilateral economic and trade cooperation and explore avenues for joint ventures in a host of sectors, including agriculture, construction, energy, infrastructure development and manufacturing sector. The two leaders discussed bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Pakistan's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Muhammad Naeem Khan were also present. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk