Antalya to Istanbul

Antalya has a key role in modern Turkish diplomacy today. Some 6,000 delegates from 150 countries were participating in the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in this historic city on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, and I was also getting the opportunity to exchange views with delegations from all over the world. There is no other opinion that the Turkish people love Pakistan very much, and it is also a very welcome thing that the mutual brotherly relations between the two countries are getting stronger and stronger with time. However, the worrying aspect is that despite such closeness and love, the economic relations and trade volume between the two countries are very limited and until economic interests are intertwined, joint development and common interests cannot be established. Various Turkish government and business people were discussed at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. My curiosity was to know why there is so much inattention to the most important factor, like economic relations. The Turks' response was shocking, and Pakistani authorities should pay attention to it immediately. They said that whenever we go to Pakistan, we do not feel that Pakistan is any other country. We are treated with immense love. Meetings of our delegations are arranged at the highest level, from the Chief Ministers to the Prime Minister, and they take special time for us. But it is surprising that when we thrash our hands to implement our economic plans, we just thrash our hands, and our proposals and plans are not implemented. Now, whether it is a bureaucratic issue or some other issue becomes a wall, we do not know. When I asked what the minimum trade volume between the two brotherly countries should be, every Turk I met said that the target of five billion dollars can be easily achieved, and if hard work is done, trade can be increased many times over. Turkey is also very interested in the Middle Corridor that is being built from Beijing to London, and in this regard, too, it needs Pakistan's help. I don't understand why we give a thousand arguments to increase trade with a country that repeatedly creates a situation of conflict and stops everything, but we don't try to increase trade with countries that stand with both arms outstretched.

A Saudi told me that we went to Pakistan to take matters forward on business issues, so we had meetings with ministers, but we were surprised to see that they were not prepared at all regarding their departments. One of the ministries has been changed in your country, while another gentleman took us to show his housing scheme, which was not included in our visit and had nothing to do with us. In the meantime, the Prime Minister should immediately formulate a strategy that will determine with which countries in the world our trade volume can increase, how much trade volume there is at present, and what the possibilities are of increasing it. Russia sees Pakistan not only in terms of trade but also in terms of strategy. All the Russians I spoke to in Antalya had the same opinion that Pakistan is not using itself according to its position and status, and many of the problems Pakistan is facing are actually due to not using its position properly. I agree 100% with this analysis of the Russians.

After visiting Hadrian's Gate, the largest tourist attraction in Antalya, which still stands today as a monument to the visit of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the second century AD, and the historical museum, I said goodbye to Antalya and traveled to Istanbul with very happy memories and new friends from all over the world. The first engagement in Istanbul was to visit Istanbul University. I met the rector of the university, Dr. Osman Bulent, who keeps a close eye on Pakistan. Professor Waqar Badshah is Pakistani, and he was informed about my arrival through Turkish Professor Abdul Hamid Barsik, who belongs to Marmara University. Professor Waqar is a very active person in the Pakistani community. Along with this, Pakistani students also actively participate in activities and make their presence felt. The president of Pakistani students, Abdul Rehman Razaq, Jamal from MathaTawana, Syed Muslim from Pakpattan, while Abdul Rehman, who belongs to Lahore, are playing a very active role in Istanbul.