Turkish President Erdogan says considers Pakistan second home as MoUs signed

ISLAMABAD: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday he considered Pakistan his "second home" as he and Prime Minister Imran Khan signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) in a ceremony here in the federal capital.

Erdogan expressed gratitude to Pakistan's government and its people for their warm welcome during his two-day visit.  "I consider Pakistan my second home," he said. "Turkey stands with Pakistan and will continue to do so."

The Turkish president also thanked "his brother Imran" for action against militants and terrorists based in Pakistan, stressing that Pakistan and Afghanistan were "brotherly nations" and Ankara wished to promote relations between the two "brotherly nations".

Cabinet members and the Turkish government's senior officials were present during the ceremony held shortly after PM Imran and Erdogan met during a 6th Round of Pakistan-Turkey High Level Strategic Cooperation Council.

Pakistan and Turkey signed 12 MoUs related to various fields such as trade, tourism, culture, and railways.

Addressing the event, the Pakistani premier said a new chapter had been opened in the Pak-Turk relations.

"Ever since President Erdogan became the chief executive of Turkey, our bilateral relations have improved," he added, noting how Turkey's economy improved significantly after Erdogan came into power.

PM Imran said Turkey earned over $170 billion annually from tourism and that Pakistan should learn from Erdogan's experience to maximise its potential as well. 

He further appreciated Erdogan's parliamentary speech from earlier in the day, wherein the Turkish leader had spoken out against India's "unilateral steps" in occupied Kashmir as well as New Delhi-sanction atrocities.

Erdogan had said depriving Kashmiris from their freedom and usurping their rights was not in anybody's interests.