FOREIGN MINISTER OF TURKEY CALLS ON THE PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN

Islamabad, 2 August: Mr. Mevlut Cavusoglu, Foreign Minister of Turkey along with a delegation called on Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif at PM House today.

Welcoming the Turkish Foreign Minister, the Prime Minister said that Pakistan and Turkey enjoy fraternal ties, which are based on common and shared bonds of history, culture, traditions, religion and social values.

The Prime Minister extended warmest congratulations to the Turkish leadership and people for their triumph against the assault on democracy on the night of July 15.

Reaffirming solidarity with Turkey in its fight against terrorism, the Prime Minister reiterated deep sympathies and condolences over the loss of precious lives in the terrorist attack at the Ataturk International Airport on June 28. ‘’Pakistan has also suffered greatly from terrorism. The ongoing military operation “Zarb-e-Azb” and the National Action Plan have yielded highly positive results. The determination with which we have undertaken the operation has been lauded by the international community, including Turkey, for which we are grateful’’, said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister expressed confidence that the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC) is playing an instrumental role in providing strategic direction to the development of bilateral relationship between the two countries. The Prime Minister also appreciated Turkey’s steadfast support to Pakistan’s quest for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Mr. Mevlut Cavusoglu thanked the Prime Minister for the warm welcome extended to him in Pakistan. The Turkish Foreign Minister expressed gratitude for the solidarity shown by Pakistani leadership with the government and people of Turkey during the attempted coup. He said both the countries need to further enhance the bilateral relationship between the two countries by fully exploiting the available potential.

"Pakistan was one of the first countries to strongly and unequivocally condemn the attempted coup and express support and solidarity for President Erdogan and democracy in Turkey’’ said the Foreign Minister.

The meeting was also attended by Mr Sartaj Aziz, Advisor to PM on Foreign Affairs, Mr Tariq Fatemi, SAPM and other senior officials of the government.