Pak-Turkey bilateral trade volume to be increased to $5bn, says Erdogan

We want to take the commercial relations between the two brotherly countries to the same level as political ties, says President Tayyip Erdogn

ISLAMABAD: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday vowed to take Pak-Turkey bilateral trade volume to $1 billion in the first phase and eventually to $5 billion later.

Addressing the Pakistan-Turkey Business Forum in Islamabad on Friday, he said there is vast scope for increasing the current two-way trade volume of 800 million dollars.

“We want to take the commercial relations between the two brotherly countries to the same level as political ties,” said Turkish President. He said the two countries can collaborate in a number of industries for their mutual benefit.

Turkey is increasing investments in Pakistan. We have brought down our debt from 72 percent of GDP to 33 per cent. Turkey increased tourists from 13 million to 68 million, resulting in increased to 35 billion dollars from 8.5 billion dollars earned from this sector, he added.

Addressing Pakistan-Turkey Business Forum Prime Minister Imran Khan invited the Turkish business community to invest in different sectors of Pakistan especially tourism, mining and agriculture.

He pointed out that Pakistan has a huge untapped potential in tourism including in beach and historic places.

The Prime Minister said Pakistan can greatly benefit from the Turkish experience in the development of necessary infrastructure for the promotion of tourism.

Imran Khan said Pakistan also desires to learn from the experiences of Turkey in the fields of agriculture and mining.

Pakistan gained 20 places in the world ranking in ease of doing business. We have reduced regulations to facilitate the businessmen,” said PM Imran.

Speaking on the occasion, Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood invited the Turkish investors to initiate the joint projects in Pakistan. He said both the countries have immense opportunities of cooperation. He said Pakistan and Turkey enjoy excellent bilateral relations.

Abdul Razak Dawood said both the countries have agreed to promote the strategic relations between the two countries.

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