Behlul Cetinkaya
12 March 2019•Update: 12 March 2019
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan
A delegation from Anadolu Agency on Tuesday visited capital Islamabad to inaugurate its Pakistan office.
The delegation led by Metin Mutanoglu, the editor-in-chief and deputy director general, and Mustafa Ozkaya, deputy director general of the agency, visited the country's information minister, state-run news agency, and the Turkish ambassador.
Their first stop was the Ministry of Information and Broadcast.
They were welcomed by Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain at the Pakistan Television (PTV) headquarters.
The delegation informed Pakistani officials of Anadolu Agency's activities and global presence.
Expressing his pleasure at inauguration of the agency's office, Hussain said both countries enjoy strong ties.
"Even in this crisis [with India], one country that openly stood with Pakistan was Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is hugely respected in Pakistan. People love him, adore him," said Hussain.
"The whole Pakistani nation considers Turkey as a friend and as one of the most important Muslim countries in the world. We have huge respect for the kind of leadership Turkey provides to the world," added Hussain.
The minister added that Pakistan is ready for more cooperation with Turkey in the fields of broadcast and film.
Ozkaya said that Islamabad will be one of the regional hubs for the agency and drew attention to the importance of good relations with Pakistan.
"Out of our office here, we want to show to the world that Pakistan is a safe and beautiful country which is worth taking out the time for a visit. We are two nations that love each other even though we do not share any borders," said Ozkaya.
Mutanoglu informed the officials about the agency's presence in 41 countries adding that it has an office in the U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon).
"We need more solidarity and media plays a very important role for that," Mutanoglu said.
After the meeting with Hussain, the delegation visited the PTV news center, where they opened subscription accounts for PTV directors.
Turkey's Ambassador to Pakistan Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul said that Pakistan, with its strategic location as the gateway to Asia, its vibrant young population and its economic potential holds great importance for Turkey.
Saying that the Turkish embassy will support the agency's reporting efforts in Pakistan, Yurdakul added that the trade volume between Turkey and Pakistan is increasing.
"The economies of the two countries can complement each other," Yurdakul said.
The delegation met with Deputy General Manager of Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) Muhammad Kamarullah.
Kamarullah recalled an agreement with Anadolu Agency on news sharing and informed the delegation about the work of APP.
In addition to Mutanoglu and Ozkaya, also present in the delegation were Faruk Tokat, international news editor-in-chief, Mehmet Ozturk, world languages editor, Ural Yesil, international operations director, and Yilmaz Yaman, marketing and corporate communications director.
Writing by Vakkas Doğantekin
