Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s arrival in Islamabad will remove all remaining doubts that Turkey felt offended over Pakistan’s decision not to attend the Kuala Lumpur Summit. Mr Erdogan’s two-day visit to Pakistan is testimony to the long-lasting friendship between the two Muslim countries. And when it comes to Turkey, everyone stands united in Turkey’s praise, as the welcome statement of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif suggests.
Also, Imran Khan personally driving President Erdogan and the Turkish first lady from the airport to Prime Minister House will mitigate the impression that Pakistan is a vassal state of some powerful nations. In fact, it suggests that whoever helps Pakistan in these hard times will find the utmost respect from Pakistan.
Erdogan’s trip is not an ordinary one, as is evident from the fact that he is accompanied by his cabinet members, senior government officials and business figures. The size of the delegation suggests that Turkey wants some serious business with Pakistan to further deepen the bilateral ties. Perhaps, this display of camaraderie challenges the widely held cliché “there are no permanent friends or foes” in the international relations “but national interests”.
Given that Turkey is not holding back anything from Pakistan even when the latter is struggling with an economic crisis show the robust engagement between the two countries. Islamabad considers Turkey an important ally and values the latter’s efforts in supporting Pakistan to come out of the financial crunch.
Moreover, Turkish-Pakistani ties that go almost a century back, during the Khilfat Movement, have remained cordial even during the most testing times. Also, given the changing geopolitical situation the two sides will deliberate on the issues that the region and the Muslim world are struggling with. The two leaders are determined to take the Ummah out of the current chaos. Their intentions are pure; hopefully, their actions in this regard will overcome any obstacle.
Source: https://nation.com.pk/14-Feb-2020/erdogan-s-visit
