Consul General of the Republic of Turkiye Durmus Bastug visited Pakistan-China Joint Chambers of Commerce and Industry to discuss trilateral relations among Turkiye, Pakistan and China, here at PCJCCI Secretariat on Wednesday.
The meeting was attended by the executive committee members of PCJCCI and many top notch business leaders from both Pakistan and China. PCJCCI President Moazzam Ghurki said that Pakistan, Turkiye and China are three brotherly countries and they could complement each other’s economy in many fields, therefore, they should focus on promoting trade and economic ties to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. He added that Pakistan has gained market access in traditional sectors such as leather, rice, dates, mangoes, cutlery, and sports goods; and non-traditional sectors including seafood, processed agricultural products, rubber tubes and tyres, plastics, and engineering goods.
Durmus Bastug exchanged his views by saying that Turkiye and Pakistan enjoy good relations which should be transformed into growing business relations to achieve mutual economic benefits. He added that the current trade volume between the two countries is around USD 1.2 billion which did not reflect the expected and actual figure. “So, our primary goal is to reach USD 5 billion trade volume in a few years. Half of the Turkish investments in Pakistan, worth around USD 2 billion, are in the Punjab region, and more than 15 Turkish companies are operating in various fields in Punjab,” he mentioned. The joint chambers Secretary General Salahuddin Hanif said that the 6,540 km journey from Islamabad to Istanbul city takes ten days, less than half the time needed for the equivalent voyage of 21 days by sea.
Therefore, the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul train project should be implemented and completed not only for freight purpose but also to boost tourism between the three countries. He also said that PCJCCI aims to enhance regional connectivity by enhancing bilateral and trilateral trade relations between the countries.
