ISLAMABAD, June 19: Commerce Minister Abdul Razak Dawood said on Wednesday that Pakistan was likely to sign a string of trade agreements with Turkey for promoting bilateral trade between the two countries.

He said this before leaving Islamabad airport for Turkey to attend the three-day 12th session of the Turkey-Pakistan Joint Ministerial Commission for Economic and Technical Cooperation. The minister entourage included high government officials and people from the private sectors.

The minister said that like European Union, Islamabad would also seek increase in quotas from Ankara for different Pakistani products, especially for textile items. He said to convince the Turkish authorities on the issue, he was accompanied by a delegation from the textile sector.

Mr Dawood said that during the meeting, emphasis would be given to greater market access of the Pakistani products in Turkey markets.

The Turkish are said to be keen on signing agreements on several projects during the forthcoming joint ministerial conference being held in Ankara.

The minister said that the agreements to be finalized with Turkey were in the areas of land transport, small industries, airline and shipping industry.

According to the agenda of the meeting, KOSKEP, the Turkish association of small and medium industries, is likely to sign an agreement with Smeda for cooperation in small and medium size industries.

Similarly, the Turkish customs department would likely to conclude an agreement with the Central Board of Revenue (CBR). The Turkish Standards Institute may also ink an MoU with Pakistan’s standard institute.

To a question, the minister said that Pakistan had expressed keen interest in increasing the number of flights between the two countries and would like to revise the existing agreement between the civil aviation authorities of the two countries.

Razak Dawood said that he would also discuss with the Turkish authorities the dispute between the National Highway Authority (NHA) and Bayinder.

Moreover, the Turkish government is also interested in cooperation with Pakistan’s construction and contracting firms, especially with focus on the reconstruction of Afghanistan.