Zubair Qureshi Islamabad
President Asif Ali Zardari conferred on Monday Pakistan’s prestigious award Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Military) upon Gen Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, Commander of Turkish Land Forces, during a special investiture ceremony held at Aiwan-e-Sadr.
He conferred the award in recognition of his services in promoting and strengthening defence relations between Pakistan and Turkiye.
Later, the visiting Turkish general called on the President. The meeting was also attended by Chief of Army Staff, Gen Syed Asim Munir.
The meeting discussed matters pertaining to defence cooperation between the two brotherly countries.
Both sides emphasised the need for further expanding bilateral ties for the mutual benefit of Pakistan and Turkiye. The president held that relations between Pakistan and Turkiye were cordial and Pakistan was proud of its strong ties with Turkiye, which had always supported Pakistan on core issues.
He expressed satisfaction over the collaboration between Pakistan and Turkiye on a number of projects that would further strengthen bilateral ties.
The president also highlighted the need for increasing people-to-people contacts, as well as promoting cooperation in the areas of agriculture, education, art and culture to bring the people of Pakistan and Turkiye further closer.
He said that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was a true and sincere friend of Pakistan who had made telephonic calls to him on his election as well as at the beginning of Ramzan-ul-Mubarak. This, he added, showed his commitment to broadening Pak-Turkiye ties.
Commander of Turkish Land Forces, Gen Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, reiterated the desire to further improve defence cooperation with Pakistan. He said that both countries could significantly contribute to the promotion of regional peace and stability.
The president congratulated the Commander of Turkish Land Forces on receiving the Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Military) and hoped that he would continue to play his role to further strengthen defence cooperation between the two brotherly countries.
