Landmark visit to Turkey
By Huma Nasim

ANY visit by a Head of State or a Head of the Government to another country is of paramount importance, because this kind of visits involve the improvement of a country on political, economic and diplomatic fronts.

One of such important visits has been made by Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to Turkey recently. Turkey is an important country of our times. Being a member of NATO and an inspiring player in the politics of European Union, this country has an influence in the West. But at the same time, Turkey is also a leading member of OIC.

During the recent visit of Turkey by PM Aziz, bilateral ties were reinforced in the fields of politics, defence and trade. Though a great supporter of nuclear non-proliferation, Pakistan is one of the few nuclear States of the world which further enhances its importance.

During the one-to-one meeting between the two Premiers, mutual cooperation in the field of defence was agreed upon. The aides of Prime Minister Erdogan revealed that both the brotherly countries had decided to build conventional arms together, for example tanks.

The two countries are also considering joint production of armoured personnel carriers and patrol boats, while Turkish company Aselsan showed willingness to sell electronic warfare equipment to Pak Army.

Pakistan’s arsenal is mainly American and Chinese type while it is also making great efforts in the direction of producing indigenous warfare equipment. In cooperation with China, it is producing a fighter-bomber which will shortly go into serial production while Pakistan Navy has acquired modern sub-marine technology from France.

The country is also producing al-Khalid and al-Jarrar tanks and is exporting them. On the other hand, Turkey too has acquired proficiency in warfare technology and produces important war items at Ankara’s Akinci facility. Hence, working jointly, both countries can benefit from each other’s experience in defence.

As far as the political aspect of this visit is concerned, the principal achievement is that both the countries supported each other’s stand on Kashmir and Northern Cyprus. Turkey supplied arms and ammunition worth $50,000,000 to Islamabad during the 1965 war with India while Pakistan provided diplomatic support to the Turkish military action in Cyprus in 1974.

Over the Cyprus issue, Pakistan was alone in supporting Turkish action and proved to be a friend in need. Pakistan has also provided de facto recognition to Northern Cyprus.

A large number of Pakistani students study in Northern Cyprus. During PM Aziz’s recent visit, his Turkish counterpart stressed the need for an early and fair resolution of the Kashmir issue. In the recent past, Turkey has sought to strengthen and improve its ties with India but not at the cost of close friendly relations with Islamabad.

Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan is one of the most popular leaders of Turkey (who belongs to Mr Erbakan’s Islamsit Reformist Party). He and his Cabinet Members have a soft corner for Pakistan. Mr Erdogan visited Pakistan on June 16, 2003. The cultural and political relations between Turkey and the Muslims of Indo-Pak subcontinent date back to the days of Turkish Caliphate, Ottoman Empire and the Balkan wars.

The pre-partition Muslim daily newspapers published day-to-day reports on Kamal Ataturk’s military achievements in Anatolia. One of the main boulevards in Ankara was named after Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Pakistan was recognized by Turkey soon after its independence.

At a certain point of time, the visa regulations between the two countries had been abolished, but were later restored after the request of the Pakistani Government. So, for Pakistan, the political importance of Turkey is multi-faceted.

Turkey, as mentioned before, is a member of NATO and anticipations are that after ten years, it will become a full member of the powerful 25-nation bloc ie the European Union.

Recently referendums were held in France and the Netherlands on the question of the approval of the new European Union constitution. This constitution envisages further expansion of EU, the integration of Europe and the new modus operandi of this now-enlarged organization.

Some elements are against the expansion of the European Union but Britain, which will get its turn of EU presidency this July, is an ardent supporter of the inclusion of Turkey in the EU.

In any case, we can say that Turkey is in constant process of talks with EU countries and is located at the meeting point of Asia and Europe. So it definitely has an important position in the West.●

© 2005 Huma Nasim