Pakistan, Turkey to sign free trade agreement 'soon'

Pakistani president said on Saturday that his country is likely to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Turkey, local media reports said.

According to Associated Press of Pakistan, Arif Alvi said during an event in Karachi that a FTA would boost the bilateral trade between the two countries.

Alvi said he discussed the FTA with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during his recent visit to Istanbul.

He said there were seven meetings held on the issue before, but the FTA was not realized because of concerns of Turkey.

"Now, these hindrances will be removed and the FTA will be finalized soon," Alvi said.