On Thursday, The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu inaugurated a new building at the Turkish Consulate in Clifton, Karachi. Chief Minister of Sindh Murad Ali Shah was present at the ceremony who spoke about Turkey and Pakistan’s historic bilateral relations and requested for increased investments from Turkey’s end in the province of Sindh
CM Sindh addressed the ceremony talking about Turkey and Pakistan’s age-old relations predating the formation of Pakistan emphasizing Muslim’s support of the Khilafat Movement. He stated, that Muslims living under the British rule considered the sultan of the Ottoman Empire their caliph and supported their Turkish brethren in their struggle for independence during the Khilafat Movement.
He also highlighted that Pakistan and Turkey fought similar fights to attain democracy and pointed out strong defense, economic, diplomatic, religious and cultural ties between both countries.
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Last year, His Excellency President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Pakistan on a special state visit in the month of February. Prime Minister Imran Khan had earlier visited Turkey on a state visit in January 2019. Culturally, the Turkish television programs have impacted the Pakistani population, recently with the popularity of several shows and visits of Turkish celebrities.
Pakistan and Turkey, on the defense side, have strong ties which are set to be strengthened with the new alliance that was formed on Wednesday between Turkey, Pakistan and Azerbaijan.
In his address, CM Sindh also emphasized on Turkey and Pakistan’s diplomatic ties with Turkey being among the first few countries that recognised the independent state of Pakistan and supported Pakistan in getting the United Nations membership. Turkey has also supported Pakistan on the issues of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
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He added that in times of crises, the Turkish government had aided Pakistan giving an example of the 2005 earthquakes when the Turkish government announced a $150 million aid package for the earthquake victims in Pakistan. Additionally, Turkey also provided assistance during and after the 2010 floods, especially in dealing with the aftermath of the flood. Pakistan had also sent aid to Turkey after earthquakes jolted the latter in 1999 and 2011, he added.
The CM also added that with the Turkey Pakistan Free Trade Agreement underway, we can foresee our bilateral trade achieving new heights.
Earlier in the day, the CM hosted the Turkish Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu and his delegation at the CM House. The CM at the reception invited Turkish investors to invest in Sindh in urban transport, waste management, renewable energy projects and coal mining.
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Karachi especially has a huge problem with waste management. The recent rains in the month of August in the metropolitan city brought to light the poor infrastructure and sewerage system in terms of waste disposal.
The visiting Turkish minister consented to send his investors to Sindh so they could explore potential investment opportunities in the province. His Excellency also agreed to work with the Sindh government in the areas of urban transport and waste management.