Time has come to leverage excellent bonds with Turkey, says Shehbaz

Shared development and a common destiny call for a fresh approach, says the premier as he departs for Ankara

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday departed for his official three-day visit to Turkey and said the "time has come" for the two countries to leverage their "excellent bonds" and upgrade bilateral ties.

Departing for visit to Turkey. Time has come for Pakistan & Turkey to leverage their excellent bonds to upgrade bilateral ties. Era of regional connectivity, shared development & common destiny calls for a fresh approach. Look forward to discussing this with my brother @RTErdogan

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) May 31, 2022

The premier maintained that in the current era of regional connectivity, shared development and a "common destiny" call for a fresh approach and added that he was looking forward to discussing the matter with Turkish President Erdogan.

Ahead of his three-day official trip to Ankara, Shehbaz told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview that while Islamabad wishes to deepen and widen engagement with the United States, it also focuses on infrastructure building under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Commenting on the bilateral relations between the two countries, he said that they are grounded firmly in common religious, cultural, and linguistic links and transcend political changes on either side.

“In these seven and a half decades, the two sides have always stood by each other in the face of all changes,” the premier said. “Pakistan and Turkey support each other on all issues of core national interest – whether it is Jammu and Kashmir or Northern Cyprus.”

Expressing his desire to boost economic cooperation, he said, “The current level of bilateral trade is still not a true reflection of the excellent state of our relationship. This is also an area where immense opportunities exist for both countries.”

He added that he will encourage Turkish businesses to invest in various fields, including energy, infrastructure, e-commerce, municipal agro-based industry, and IT sectors, etc.

Regarding Pak-US relations, Prime Minister Shehbaz said that both sides have a longstanding and broad-based relationship in various areas of mutual interest.

“We believe that our continued constructive engagement can promote peace, security, and development in the region,” he said. “We wish to deepen and widen our engagement with the US, which remains Pakistan's biggest export market and a major source of FDI and remittances.”

He also revealed that Pakistan has instituted dialogues with the US in various areas, including climate change, health, energy, trade, and investment, adding that this year they are celebrating 75 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

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Responding to a question about CPEC, he said, “As the earliest proponent of President Xi's visionary BRI (Belt and Road Initiative), Pakistan firmly supports the BRI's five-pronged emphasis on physical connectivity, financial cooperation, trade facilitation, policy consultation, and people-to-people linkages.”

“With the CPEC, we have successfully realised our two countries' shared vision and the BRI's ideals,” he added.

He further said that with CPEC entering a new phase of high-quality development, Pakistan’s Belt and Road cooperation will accelerate its industrial and economic modernisation.

Answering a question about India, in the aftermath of the August 5, 2019, move, Shehbaz said that as part of its shift from geo-strategy to geo-economics, Pakistan is looking to forge partnerships, especially within the region, based on connectivity.

“Pakistan and India have a lot to gain from mutually beneficial trade,” he said.

However, he added, given the ongoing situation in Kashmir, “it is hard to imagine that progress can be made on the trade front”.

“For normalisation of relations, India must revisit its actions of Aug. 5, 2019, and not seek further division, bifurcation, and demographic changes in the occupied territory to perpetuate its illegal occupation,” the premier said. “In order to accrue the utmost benefit from mutually beneficial trade, the onus lies with India to create a conducive environment for dialogue and engagement.”

Regarding Afghanistan, he said that the world cannot abandon the Afghan people. It must shoulder the responsibility to immediately address the country’s humanitarian crisis and fragile economy, he added.

In response to a question about his domestic policies, Prime Minister Shehbaz said, that the first and foremost challenge is to revive the economy that lost steam during the past four years.