Pakistan invites Turkish investment in country

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan

Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul called on President Dr. Arif Alvi in capital Islamabad on Monday to discuss matters of bilateral interests, including possibilities of boosting Turkish investment in Pakistan.

The Turkish ambassador met the president mainly to follow up the latter's visit to Turkey in October this year, said a statement from the President House.

The president, according to the statement, invited the Turkish investors to take advantage of business opportunities in Pakistan.

"Pakistan is investment ready country now and investors from all over the world, particularly from Turkey must take advantage of this opportunity," Alvi said.

The president noted that Turkish companies had invested immensely in Pakistan in energy and infrastructure projects.

"Pakistan and Turkey are bound in deep and historical relations, which are not only brotherly but mutually beneficial as well. He also said that both the countries have strong defense ties as well," he went on to say.

In October, Pakistan Navy commissioned a 17,000-ton fleet tanker it has built in collaboration with a Turkish defense contractor, STM.

Pakistan is set to receive 30 T129 Advanced Attack and Tactical Reconnaissance (ATAK) helicopters from Turkey under a deal finalized in July this year.

The helicopters, specifically designed for attack and reconnaissance, will be delivered gradually over five years.

Ankara is, meanwhile, buying MFI-17 Super Mushshak aircraft from Pakistan besides upgrading three Pakistani submarines and jointly building a fleet tanker.

In July this year, Ankara won a multibillion-dollar tender to supply four corvettes to Pakistan Navy -- a deal dubbed as the biggest export for Turkey’s defense industry in history by the then National Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli.