Pakistani government built Pak-Turkish Friendship Square in Rawalpindi, garrison city adjacent to capital Islamabad, to express Pakistan-Turkey friendship.
The square that has built by Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) on the Murree Road of the city was inaugurated by the Turkish Ambassador to Islamabad Mustafa Yurdakul on Thursday.
The inaugural ceremony was also attended by RDA Chairman Tariq Mehmood Murtaza, Director-General RDA Chaudhry Maqbool Ahmed, Country Head of TIKA Gokhan Umut, General Secretary of Turkish Organization IHH-NL Akhlaq-ur-Rehman, and other officials.
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Speaking at the inaugural ceremony the RDA chairman thanked the Turkish Ambassador and said this monument would be a reminder of strong Pakistan-Turkey friendship.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan wished to further strengthen relations with Muslim countries. In this regard, we are continuing our efforts to bring the people of Muslim countries closer to each other,” he said.
He added that the Pakistani-Turkish memorial project is also part of his country move to bringing both countries closer.
Pakistan-Turkey 'friendship square' launched
Square built in garrison city of Rawalpindi inaugurated by Turkish envoy @Mustafa_MFA @PakTurkey @TrEmbIslamabad https://t.co/yYBsgBlNkf— Islamuddin Sajid (@islamudinsajid) December 25, 2020
Turkish Ambassador, addressing the ceremony, thanked Rawalpindi Development Authority and its chairman for constructing the Turkish Friendship Square, said this monument would be a reminder of Pakistani-Turkish friendship.
“Pakistan and Turkey are brotherly countries. Turkey is working on various projects to bring prosperity to Pakistan,” the Turkish ambassador said.
Maqbool Ahmed also thanked the Turkish ambassador for inaugurating the square and said both countries helped each other in their most difficult times while Pakistan was keen to enhance its relations with Turkey to an even higher level.
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Pakistan, Turkey envoys vow to enhanced bilateral trade
The ambassadors of Pakistan and Turkey resolved last month to work more for enhancing bilateral trade besides cooperation in other fields. They were speaking in a webinar on “Pakistan-Turkey relations, opportunities to enhance cooperation,” organized by the Muslim Institute, an Islamabad-based think tank.
Pakistan’s ambassador to Turkey Syrus Sajjad Qazi said bilateral trade, despite deep political and cultural relations, hovers between $600- $800 million, which is not “very impressive.”
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“During President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Pakistan this February, the two sides decided to take a fresh and out of the box approach toward trade issues,” he said, adding that 100 Turkish companies are operating in Pakistan in fields such as construction, consumer goods, services, and infrastructure development.
Anadolu with additional input by GVS News Desk