ISLAMABAD,
Nov 21 (APP): Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan Wednesday
said that if the issue of Karkey Power Plant was not resolved then it
may have negative impact on Turkish investors who are keen to invest in
Pakistan. The
Turkish Prime Minister who arrived here straight from the airport to
attend the D 8 Summit held one on one meeting with Prime Minister Raja
Pervez Ashraf and raised the issue when both the leaders led their
respective delegations at the delegations level meeting.
Reiterating
concern of Turkish government on Karkey issue, the Prime Minister of
Turkey said while understanding the legal complications that are
inherent in litigations, he hoped that the executive will find a way to
resolve this matter.
Failure to do so, he said would have negative impact for Turkish investors in Pakistan.
He
expressed his special concern as the ship had been mounted with state
of the art devices which are likely to be damaged with the passage of
time.
He said that
Turkish investors were keen to invest on BOT basis for construction of
dams in Pakistan. Turkish companies were only second to China in respect
of construction of dams, he added.
Mr.Erdogan said that Pakistan was blessed with huge water resources which
needed investment for harnessing it to meet its energy and water
requirements.Turkish companies were ready to help Pakistan in this
connection, he affirmed.
Prime
Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf thanked his Turkish counterpart for his
participation in the D-8 Summit .Terming the D-8 event very important
conference he expressed the hope that the outcome of the summit will
lead to more economic cooperation among the member states and better
relations.
Prime Minister
Ashraf said that the trade between Pakistan and Turkey is not
commensurate with the ties between the two countries.
Commenting
on the present volume of trade, the Prime Minister hoped that the
Turkish side would have a favourable look at the tariff structure for
further improving volume of trade between the two countries.
The
Prime Minister said that Pakistan supports the stand taken by the
Turkish government on the issue of Palestine and also referred to his
telephonic conversation with Egyptian President recently, on this
issue.
He lamented the
loss of innocent Palestinian lives in Gaza and said that Pakistan has a
principled position on Palestine. On this issue, Pakistan and Turkey
were on the same page, he added.
Prime
Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf apprised his Turkish counterpart of the
efforts of Pakistan government to improve its relations with
Afghanistan and counter terrorism.
He said that highest priority was being given to eliminate terrorism from the country.
Dilating
on the issue of Afghanistan, the Prime Minister referred to recent
visit of Mr.Salahuddin Rabbani, Chairman High Peace Council and termed
the present nature of relationship with Afghanistan encouraging.
He said Pakistan was looking forward to trilateral summit in Ankara next month.
Referring
to the Syrian situation, he termed it as having serious implications
for the region and regretted that it has allowed terrorists and Al Qaeda
to infiltrate in Syria.
The
Turkish Prime Minister condemned the attack on Malala Yousafzai and
said Turkey would be very happy if nomination of Malala for Nobel peace
prize is accepted.
The
Prime Minister of Turkey referred to his last visit on May 22 where
substantive progress had been made between the two countries. He also
called for evaluation and examination of the decisions between the two
sides, then...
The
Turkish Prime Minister thanked the Government of Pakistan for rescuing
Turkish workers during the recent floods, who were working in
Balochistan for construction of housing units. He informed his Pakistani
counterpart that 4120 housing units would be delivered to Pakistan very
soon.
The Turkish Prime
Minister said that Turkey had been keenly following developments in
Pakistan. He also announced 65 Scholarships for Pakistani students in
Turkish universities.
Prime
Minister Ashraf thanked him for the offer and said that the youths who
would benefit from it would be the real ambassadors between the two
countries.
The Turkish
Prime Minister condemned the relentless attack by Israel on Palestinians
and also referred to the situation in Syria.
The
Pakistani side which was led by Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf was
assisted by Minister of Defence Syed Naveed Qamar, Minister of Water and
Power, Ch.Ahmed Mukhtar, Minister of Information, Qamar Zaman Kaira and
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Malik Amad Khan besides senior
officials.
The Turkish
side was led by Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Dr.Ahmed Davetoglu, Foreign
Minister, Vice Chairman of the ruling AK Party, senior parliamentarians
of Turkey and officials assist the Prime Minister.