ISTANBUL: Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday urged big Turkish businesses to invest in Pakistan, stressing the potential between the two nations should also be reflected in bilateral trade and business ties.
Addressing a meeting of a corporate body organised by the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey, or DEiK, the prime minister made a full-court press, saying his government will not tolerate any snags or impediments in the way of investment from foreign businesses.
He reassured Islamabad would provide a hassle- and red tape-free environment to prospective Turkish investors.
He revealed that during his meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he was informed that more and more Turkish companies were eager to come to Pakistan.
Sharif “regretted” that in the past, the Turkish businesses that had invested in Pakistan were not given due payments on time. The same was the case with the Turkish airlines operating in Pakistan, he claimed.
The people of Pakistan had benefited from the Turkish investment and support, he said.
“I want to convey this message to all, through you, that we are brothers and family, and will not tolerate such snags and impediments which hurt our ties,” he said, reassuring the host nation that his government would remove all the issues and address investors’ genuine concerns.
He said to further promote their bilateral trade and business relations, work on the “Trade and Goods Agreement” between the two brotherly countries would be expedited.
He said Islamabad and Ankara signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance the bilateral trade volume by up to $5 billion in the next three years.
Turkey’s annual trade stood at $250 billion but the trade between Islamabad and Ankara was hovering at a mere $1.5 billion — peanuts considering the immense potential, he added.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar, Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb and special assistants Syed Tariq Fatemi and Syed Fahad Hussain. From the host nation, Trade Minister Mehmet Mus and DEiK President Nail Olpak, and business delegations attended the meeting.
Sharif stressed that such a scenario did not reflect their exemplary brotherly ties and stressed fully exploring the indefinite potential on both sides.
He said they should make efforts and endeavour to double this trade volume in the next three years with strong commitment and sincerity of purpose as “only hard work and untiring efforts will be keys to a wonderful success story”.
The prime minister said their friendship and brotherhood had been known to all and sundry, as the world knew them “like brothers and a family”.
“Though the people in the two nations speak different languages, they perfectly understand each other and their hearts beat together,” he said, noting that the historical relationship and fraternal ties were not adequately reflected in the volume of bilateral trade and business.
The prime minister opined that in every country, trade, investment and business activities were governed by financial rules and regulations.
He said that in this regard, the two brotherly countries had threshed out their problems to a great extent.
The prime minister said he firmly believed it was not too late to mend, and stressed that they should move forward with joint efforts and cooperation.
“Let’s start today and look forward and learn from the past and move with speed, so that we can compensate for the past losses and make dividends. There is immense potential on both sides, let’s synergise and move speedily to show to the world that we as brothers have the will, commitment and sincerity of purpose to convert our words into action,” he added.
Sharif recalled that certain Turkish companies faced “red-tapeism” in Pakistan. There might be a lack of understanding of the wider picture, and sometimes bureaucracy created problems, he said. “They needed to cut down the red tape with sharp scissors and to simplify the system.”
He said the governments might come and go, but the trade and business ties between the brotherly countries should not be impacted.
The prime minister said that China was a sincere and time-tested friend of Pakistan, investing about $33 billion in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) between 2014 and 2018.
The prime minister also noted the world had been passing through difficult challenges, like the Ukraine conflict which saw spiralling of commodities and petroleum prices with the supply of gas becoming scant.
The countries like Pakistan were suffering due to such a scenario, wheat and fertilisers were hugely required by Pakistan to meet its domestic requirements.
The prime minister also lauded President Erdogan for making diplomatic efforts and rescuing the world by streamlining the supply of wheat from Ukraine. He also recalled the “incredible efforts” of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to this effect.
