I have great honor to convey my warmest congratulations and best wishes to the Government and people of Turkey - on the Republic Day of Turkey. H.M Lubricants is working since a decade with OPET Lubricants Turkey, which is a subsidiary of KOC Holding, the only Turkish company in Fortune 500 and have annual capacity of 60 thousand tons in one shift, recently open a new plant in Izmir and continuously expending their network in all over Pakistan.
For 70 years and counting, Pakistan and Turkey have enjoyed a relationship that is deeply rooted in mutual respect, harmony and faith. A country like Turkey and its alliance with Pakistan, which was formed on the basis of ideology, is crucial not only for the peace of South Asia but also for Europe and the Gulf.
The two have stood together on multiple platforms and have engaged against terrorism with mutually beneficial military drills. Economic cooperation between the two has also been highly important and always will be.
Economic cooperation
The two countries have, and can enhance, educational exchanges as well as exchanges of the workforce for better training and exposure of the two. The unending economic support can also benefit from tourism exchanges, expanding its present avenues like the Pakistan Turkish Tourism Council (PTTC). Commercial ties between the two are likely to enhance in the coming years.
Onward to a positive future
The present government of Pakistan has initiated a new era of ties by working on the proposals of the Strategic Economic Framework (SEF), covering cooperation in agriculture, low-cost housing, tourism, culture, investment, industry, automobile, banking and finance, health and pharmaceuticals, transport, communications, education, vocational training, aviation, water resource development, energy, power, science, technology, information communication technology, development planning, postal services and the implementation of small-scale projects.
The bilateral trade volume that stands at $900 million is aimed to be increased fivefold by this work, which has been accelerated by Imran Khan's visit to Turkey in the first month of 2019. Where Turkish investors can enter its decade-old ally's markets. Moreover, a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries, likely to be signed this year to fulfill the goals of the SEF, will introduce a new era for the outstanding relationship, which will lead both to new heights in mutual economic cooperation. In the end again wishing both countries peace, prosperity and success.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019