Turkish-Pakistani ties get stronger every day in all the areas, said Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, highlighting the two countries' decades-long past.
"The relations of the people who live in the lands we call Pakistan with Turkey dates back to the 1920s when there was a Khilafat movement. This movement was initially established to stop the attacks on Turkey coming from everywhere possible and help the country as a whole," Khan stated.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) in an exclusive interview, he added that Indian Muslims and people in Pakistan also collected money for Turkey when it was under the occupation of the European powers back then.
"Turkish people still remember that monetary aid from this side of the world with gratitude," Khan expressed, underlining that the basis of the brotherly ties today dates back to this incident.
Emphasizing that today the bilateral relations are quite close, Khan indicated that the ties are building up in all areas.
As far as trade relations are concerned, Khan said that in February, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to visit Pakistan alongside businessmen and entrepreneurs.
"Our aim is to improve trade ties. For instance, Pakistan and Turkey can cooperate in mining work," the prime minister stated, underlining the wealth of Pakistan in terms of mine resources such as gold, copper and coal.
"However," Khan said, "we are not able to research these resources or extract them. When Erdoğan comes, we will discuss these issues, among others."
Khan added that Pakistan also wants to make technology transfers from Turkey.
"Strategic and diplomatic relations will be another major topic in our agenda," the prime minister highlighted.
Remembering that his last touristic trip before becoming a prime minister was to Istanbul, Khan said that his sons loved the city and its touristic potential.
"Turkey has a well-developed tourism sector; however, we are not at the desired level in this sector," Khan said, adding that even though the touristic attractions of Pakistan are mostly unknown to Turkish people, the country is doing its best to improve its tourism sector.
There are many things that Turkey and Pakistan share in common and thus, the countries have always supported each other. For instance, Turkey has backed Pakistan at all times, including on the issue of Kashmir in all possible forums. Pakistan, on the other hand, has stood by Turkey on tensions with Greece and Cyprus. The two also often cooperated on international conflict issues. This joint stance on diplomatic and political issues reflected on the economy as well, leading to stable and indestructible economic ties.
Khan paid an official visit to Turkey on Jan. 3-4, 2019. when he and Erdoğan discussed bilateral relations between their two countries as well as possible steps for further strengthening their cooperation on a number of issues.
