ISLAMABAD: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu presented on Friday medal of distinguished services to the outgoing ambassador of Pakistan to Turkey, Muhammad Haroon Shaukat, in recognition of his efforts to promote bilateral relations.

A message received here from Ankara said senior officials of the Turkish foreign ministry, including the deputy foreign minister, and officers of the Pakistan Embassy attended the event.

Speaking on the occasion, the Turkish foreign minister said the brotherly relations between Pakistanis and the people of Turkey predated the existence of their two states.

He offered condolences over the loss of innocent lives in the recent barbaric terrorist attack in Peshawar.

Mr Cavusoglu said the pain experienced by Pakistanis was Turkey’s grief and the progress made by them was Turkey’s progress.

He hoped that the next meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council would soon take place in Pakistan where the leaderships of the two countries would take further steps to boost economic and commercial ties.

He acknowledged the efforts of Ambassador Shaukat and lauded his services for further promoting Turkey-Pakistan ties.

Ambassador Shaukat, in his remarks, said he felt deeply honoured and privileged to receive the most-valued Award of Distinguished Services by the Turkish minister.

He said that serving as a Pakistani ambassador in Turkey was an exceptional privilege and a huge honour. “Turkey is our second home. No two countries share each other’s happiness and sorrows as Turkey and Pakistan.

“The deep-rooted bonds between the two peoples make this relationship truly special. We stayed in Turkey at exceptionally important times,” he added.

He said that Turkey, under the dynamic leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had achieved an economic miracle and had set high standards in social welfare.

“It has been our endeavour to learn from Turkey’s best practices,” he added.

Ambassador Haroon said that Pakistan, under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, stood at the threshold of a defining moment vis-a-vis political stability, peace, socio-economic development and well-being of its people.

“At this critical time, Turkey is indeed Pakistan’s most valued and trusted strategic partner in every domain,” he added.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2014