Pakistan will surpass all challenges to its security, as did Turkey in the near past. This was stated by Turkish Consul General in Karachi, Fethi Ethem, who during his farewell-visit to Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, after having completed his tenure of three years in Pakistan.
"Turkey is building 5,000 houses for flood-affected people of Pakistan", he said in a statement issued by the FPCCI here on Saturday. Ethem was welcomed at Federation House by Dawood Usman Jakhura, Vice-President FPCCI, Amjad Rafi, Chairman Pak-Turkey Business Council and leading members of the business community.
In his welcome remarks, Jakhura conveyed his satisfaction at the level of the trade volume between Pakistan and Turkey, which currently stood at US $1 billion and anticipated that this figure would increase to US $2 billion with the development of further commercial ties between the two countries.
He thanked the Turkish government for invaluable support rendered during the disastrous floods last year, and expressed hope that the Train Project initiated between Turkey, Iran and Pakistan would take off commercially sooner than expected. The issue of high rates of safeguard duty imposed on the imports of Pakistani textile products into Turkey announced in January 2011 was also brought up during the discussion. Ethem clarified that the safeguard duty was not Pakistan-specific, and that the matter was being sorted out by Turkey on a country-by-country basis.