The emotional interest of the Muslims of the subcontinent in the affairs of Turkey has been going on since the period of the Ottoman Caliphate, which changed into a new spirit of mutual cooperation after the establishment of Pakistan. When Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power, the renaissance of Islam in Turkey began, which further increased mutual cooperation between the two countries. Therefore,  Pakistan’s Prime Minister and the coalition Govt team was the most important guests along with heads and high representatives of more than 78 countries of the world in the swearing-in ceremony of President Erdogan for the third term.

The Pak team has congratulated the Turkish President on behalf of himself and the people of Pakistan and expressed his determination that Pakistan-Turkey relations will be taken to new heights.

President Erdogan also expressed his desire to further strengthen the relations of love and brotherhood. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the heads of many investment companies of Turkey met with Pak representatives, who were invited by the Prime Minister to increase investment in Pakistan. And assured the full cooperation of the Government of Pakistan in this regard. The areas discussed with Turkish investors for investment include energy, infrastructure, tourism, construction sector, engineering-based projects, low-cost housing schemes, solid waste management, waste-to-energy, tractor industry, etc. are Turkish investors have shown keen interest in increasing investment in these projects, which are of exceptional importance in Pakistan’s current economic crisis.

Due to the political instability in Pakistan, not only the economic activities have slowed down, but foreign investment has also decreased. In such circumstances, the expression of desire of Turkish investors to invest in the country is welcome.

It may be recalled here that in the past, a substantial increase by Turkish government in duties on Pak exports had badly impacted Pak exports to Turkiye and had drastically cut our outbound shipments to Ankara. In 2017, Turkiye increased the duties on Pak exports form six per cent to a whopping 24 per cent due to which Pak exports to Turkiye were badly affected as they registered a huge cut of 69 per cent.  On the contrary, Pakistan did not levy any such duties on Turkish good which poured our markets.

So this trade imbalance which is due to the barrier of high duties on Pak exports must be removed by the President Erdogan government. That’s why Pak traders advocate a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries on the lines of what we have with China and other countries to improve the volume of our bilateral trade.

Traders ask as to why both the states have failed to increase the volume of bilateral trade despite the fact that both enjoy a deep-rooted friendship and stand by one another in time of need.

It is not that the two bilateral trade is lacking in opportunities and potential, the only need is to find and explore these potentials with the help of comprehensive Free Trade Agreement.

Turkey is our trusted friend and the recent leadership-level exchanges between the two states are viewed as a symbol of the eternal bonds of between the two s states.

In fact, there is high potential in trade with Turkiye in the sectors of clothing and apparels, cotton fabrics, carpets, and home textiles, also the plastics products and foot-wears and plastic goods.

It may be recalled here that Turkiye is also the member of World Trade Organisation and is very much empowered to grant GSP-Plus status to our country. Since 2011, Pakistan is trying to pushing Turkey to do so but all in vain.

However, it is disturbing and lamentable that this friendly Muslim country has awarded investment incentives and  duties concessions to a number of countries of the region except Pakistan.

And most importantly, both Turkiye and Pakistan are also active members of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).

In fact, time has come both should materliase and implement the required trade concessions and duties waivers  for enhancing the volume of bilateral trade.

Pak-Turkiye trade endeavors need to be balancing. Pakistan and Turkiye are close friends as they share various common grounds like they exercise same religion and are have also cultural affinities.  Most importantly, Turkiye has always been supporting Pakistan during testing times at international fronts like the crucial FATF meetings, but the previous government failed to make efforts to translate this Turkish support into an easing of trade policy between the two states. Against this backdrop, it is ironic that their deep-rooted ties do not reflect when we look at the existing trade volume between the two Muslim brethren countries. The current trade volume between the two states stands at mere $1 billion while the real potential for expanding that trade exists at $5 billion, so there is a huge gap despite a wide  scope for expansion of trade endevours. There exists a substantial scope for taking the Pak-Turkiye Trade to $5 billion but that requires a lot of hard work and dedication.  Last year, a Trade in Goods Agreement (TGA) was finalized, under which Turkiye is going to increasing the number of flights from the three existing destinations i.e. Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad in Pakistan and is going to add at least two more cities-Islamabad and Faisalabad to it flights list in Pakistan. A  Turkish power distribution company is also keen to come to Pakistan and invest in Lahore as well.

And most importantly, the MoUs signed between the two countries last year in November are also important as they will  help enhance the bilateral trade volume by taking it to $5 billion in the next three years which is a good omen.

Financial experts have advised the coalition government to take all the stakeholders on board while taking business initiatives and finalizing the trade agreements between the two states to make them more viable and result-oriented so that people of both countries can reap the benefits.    There is one more new aspect that has surfaced in Pak-Turkiye trade and strategic relations and that is CPEC which is said to be a game- changer not only for Pakistan but for the entire region including Turkiye. So the possibilities of how Turkiye can be roped in to benefit from CPEC which has a potential to be explored beyond boundaries.

EOn the other hand, we know hat Pakistan energy woes are taking toll on our economic productivity and this sector is another field where Turkiye can invest. Experts say that a joint task force consisting of relevant quarters like the politicians, officials, investors and eminent businessmen should be formed to help devise ways and means to materialize and achieve the much-needed $5bn trade target in trade and Turkish investments.

Published in The Daily National Courier, June, 07 2023

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