Shahbaz Sharif meets Turk President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu

Lahore: Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif met Turk President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara and discussed national and regional matters. During the meeting, Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Turk President on the victory in election and said that the success of ruling party in election reflects unconditional confidence in the performance of government and his leadership by the people of Turkey.

He said that the support of Turk people and prayers of Pakistani people are included in this success. The Chief Minister said that he has come to Turkey with the felicitation message and congratulation on behalf of Pakistani people. He said that the tremendous progress made by Turkey during last 13 years is worth emulating for other countries.

Shahbaz Sharif said that the people of Pakistan are grieved over the recent incidents of terrorism in Turkey. He said that a number of development projects are continuing in Pakistan with the cooperation of Turkey in various sectors. He said that metro bus and cleanliness arrangements in Punjab are a living proof of Pak-Turk cooperation.

He expressed the hope that Turkey will continue similar cooperation to Pakistan in other sectors particularly energy. He said that Turkey has always supported Pakistan in hour of trial and people of Punjab cannot forget the spirit of sacrifice of Turk leadership, traders and the people during flood of 2010.

The Chief Minister said that participation of 39 Turk companies in international investment conference held in Punjab is a welcome step. He said that Turk companies will be welcome in the mega project of repair and reconstruction of 20 thousand kilometer long roads in villages of Punjab.

Turk President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaking on the occasion said that Turkey considers Pakistan its best friend and Turk government and the people want to see Pakistan progressing under the leadership of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. He said that heart of Turkey beats with heart of Pakistan. He said that our problems and joys are common.

Recep Tayyap Erdogan said that  Pakistani people have equal rights over our resources and we are always ready to extend cooperation to Pakistan in every sector. Turk President lauded the development strategy of Punjab under the leadership of Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and said that people of Punjab are lucky that they have a hard working and honest leader like Shehbaz Sharif.

Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif met Turk Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Ankara. He congratulated Turk Prime Minister on victory in elections held in November and said that it reflected the 11 year’s public service of the Turk leadership.

The Chief Minister said that Pak-Turk relations are unprecedented in the history of nations. The Turk Prime Minister also felicitated Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif on winning local bodies’ elections in Pakistan and said that Turkey is ready to share its experiences with Pakistan for the improvement and strengthening of local bodies’ system.

The Turk Prime Minister said that Turkey will send a delegation to Punjab for the planning of housing schemes for low-income people as progress and prosperity of Pakistani cities is that of Turkey.

Meanwhile, Shahbaz Sharif called on Mayor Istanbul Kadir Topbas and discussed promotion of cooperation for the improvement of urban facilities in Punjab. The Mayor of Istanbul while talking to Shehbaz Sharif said that Punjab is moving in the right direction with regard to development projects and there is a visible improvement in civic amenities in the province. Both the leaders also agreed on promotion of cooperation in the sectors of water supply, transport, solid waste management and horticulture.

Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan highly values Turk cooperation in various sectors. However, in view of the brotherly relations, there is a need of increasing trade volume between both the countries, he added.

The Chief Minister expressed these views during separate meetings with prominent investors, heads of government and private institutions and exporters in Ankara, Turkey.

Shahbaz Sharif said that vast opportunities of investment exit for Turkey in energy, agriculture, livestock and transport sectors in Pakistan. He said that the shortage of electricity in Pakistan is a temporary problem and expressed the hope that this problem will be overcome by the end of 2017.