April 20, 2008	Sunday	Rabi-us-Sani 13, 1429

ISLAMABAD, April 19: Pakistan and Turkey agreed on Saturday to hold the second tripartite summit of Pakistani, Afghan and Turkish leaders in June to discuss peace and stability in the region.

“Turkey has once again expressed the desire to hold a summit to further discuss and strengthen inputs for peace and stability in the region,” Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said at a press briefing along with his Turkish counterpart at the Foreign Office.

“Turkey is ready to have these meetings, realising the willingness on the part of both countries (Pakistan and Afghanistan),” said Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan.

The tripartite mechanism was established last year on the initiative of the Turkish president to provide for an exchange of views on Afghanistan-Pakistan ties and their repercussions for the region. It was aimed at promoting regional stability and security.

Last year’s summit had led to a joint strategy by Afghanistan and Pakistan against threats from the Taliban.

Mr Qureshi said Pakistan and Turkey agreed that peace and stability in Afghanistan was in “our mutual interest and military means are not the solution to Afghan problems and the approach towards the issue needs to be revisited”.

The two foreign ministers agreed to hold a meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) of the three countries in May. The group was set up during last year’s summit with a view to monitoring progress on measures worked out at the meeting.

The JWG has already held two rounds of talks. The third round, which was scheduled for January, could not be held because of the political situation in Pakistan.

Mr Babacan said: “Pakistan’s geo-strategic location has the ability to influence political and economic dynamics of South and Central Asia.”

“I have suggested that we develop a strategic dialogue to enhance our contacts and further improve our warm relations,” Mr Qureshi said.

The two countries discussed measures to boost economic and trade ties. “We have decided to take our bilateral trade to $1 billion in the next two years,” Mr Qureshi said.

The volume of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Turkey stands currently at $690 million. Pakistan and Turkey also discussed proposals for co-production in the defence sector.