Pakistan and Turkey Sign Multiple Agreements

Pakistan has signed 10 agreements with Turkey to enhance bilateral cooperation in various fields, including exchange of financial intelligence relating to money laundering, hydrocarbon and defence cooperation. The agreements and MoUs were signed during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Turkey from February 22-24 during which he co-chaired the 5th Session of Pakistan-Turkey High Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC). The two countries agreed to prioritise cooperation in the energy sector, increase bilateral trade and investment, enhance collaboration in the banking and finance sectors, benefit from mutual expertise in the area of education and promote cooperation between the higher education institutions; reinforce the ongoing collaboration in the fields of communications and railways and promote culture and tourism.

The two sides also agreed to expeditiously complete the work on developing a comprehensive, long-term and forward-looking framework for defence cooperation and enhance partnership between the defence industries of the two countries.

The Joint Declaration on Turkey-Pakistan Strategic Relationship for Peace and Prosperity issued at the end of the meeting condemned in the strongest possible terms the recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan and Turkey; expressed firm resolve to fight the common threats faced by both countries; reaffirmed mutual support on issues of core national interest; and agreed to intensify collaboration in diverse fields.

Established in 2009, the HLSCC serves as a framework for consultations at the highest political level between the two sides, and consists of six Joint Working Groups (JWGs) in the areas of energy, trade, banking and finance, education, communications and railways and culture and tourism.

So far 60 agreements and MoUs have been signed under the HLSCC framework in various areas.