ANKARA, 9 April 2015:  A 16-member parliamentary delegation of Balochistan Assembly that also includes 11 female members of the provincial legislature is currently visiting Turkey. Led by Speaker Balochistan Assembly Mir Jan Muhammad Khan Jamali, the delegation members visited Embassy of Pakistan in Ankara and were briefed by Ambassador Sohail Mahmood on the current status of Turkey-Pakistan relations.

Ambassador Sohail Mahmood said that the leadership of Turkey and Pakistan is keen to further deepen our excellent brotherly relations in all fields. “We are working closed to ensure that our relations grow in multidimensional fields from trade and commerce to energy, defence and education and culture,” he said. He added that the two countries are working on multiple tracks to boost trade and investment links and are commencing the process of negotiations on Free Trade Agreement (FTA). He said that frequent exchange of visits of parliamentarians will create more avenues of cooperation. The visiting delegation was also briefed about the recent visit by the Prime Minister of Pakistan to Turkey for consultations with the Turkish leadership to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Yemen.

Speaker Balochistan Assembly Mir Jan Muhammad Khan Jamali termed bilateral relations with Turkey as exemplary and said Pakistanis consider Turkey as their second home. He hoped that members of his delegation will be able to study the Turkish model of development which he termed as people-centred and a good model to be emulated in Pakistan as well.

During their week-long stay in Turkey, the parliamentary delegation will have site visits and briefings about rural development, agriculture sector, livestock and fisheries, and horticulture. This is the first ever visit of women parliamentarians from Balochistan to Turkey.

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