ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Turkey have reiterated their resolve to wiping out terrorism from the face of the earth.

The two sides expressed their desire when the visiting Turkish parliamentary delegation led by Speaker of the Grand National Assem­bly of Turkey (GNAT) Ismail Kahraman called on Presi­dent Mamnoon Hussain at the Presidency on Tuesday.

The president called for a joint counter-terrorism strategy. He expressed grief over loss of lives in attacks in Istanbul, Ankara and other cities.

He assured Mr Kahra­man of the solidarity and assistance, if and when needed.

Mr Hussain called for increasing trade volume between the two brotherly states. “The process for Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries needs to be expedited,” he said while expressing satisfaction over defence cooperation by utilising maximum the training facilities.

Mr Hussain lauded President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu for transforming Turkey into a prosperous and developed nation.

The two sides called for increasing the exchange of trade, political, parliamentary and defence delegations.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2016