Seventh visit: Turkey’s president due in Islamabad today

Erdogan will meet PM Nawaz to discuss matters of bilateral relations

ISLAMABAD:

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to arrive in Islamabad on Saturday (today) and meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The two leaders will hold discussions on further enhancement of bilateral relations and international issues of mutual interest.

President Erdogan will be stopping over in the federal capital for a day following his trip to Indonesia, making this his first trip to the country as the president of Turkey but the seventh visit in the last 10 years. As the prime minister of Turkey, Erdogan had visited Lahore and Islamabad in December 2013.

Islamabad’s relations with Ankara have gained strength and have seen tremendous improvement over the past few years under the tenure of Premier Nawaz after which their bilateral ties have acquired a new direction.

Both sides have been eager to turn their historic and cordial relations into a durable strategic and economic partnership.

Pakistan deeply appreciates the personal contribution to the growth and expansion of the Pakistan-Turkey relations under Erdogan’s leadership.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 1^st, 2015.