by Yangtze Yan

    ISLAMABAD, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Turkish prime minister's visit to Pakistan has a positive impact on the bilateral relations and gives a fillip to the Pakistan-Turkey ties, a former Pakistani ambassador to Turkey said Tuesday.

    In an interview with Xinhua, former ambassador Humayun Qazi said Pakistan and Turkey enjoy a special relationship which is rooted in history and was exemplified by the support of the Muslims of India during Turkey's war of independence.

    These fraternal relations were further strengthened after the creation of Pakistan in 1948, Qazi said.

    "There is overwhelming goodwill for each other among the peoples of the two countries and close cooperation among their Armed Forces," the former ambassador told Xinhua.

    The extraordinary warmth and high importance extended to the Turkish prime minister is evident from the opportunity afforded to address the Pakistani Parliament on Monday as well as being decorated with the highest award of Nishan-e-Pakistan, he said.

    Local media reports said that Erdogan was the fifth world leader to address the joint session of the Pakistani Parliament. The Pakistani government on Monday conferred Nishan-e-Pakistan, the country's highest civil award on Erdogan in recognition of his contribution for strengthening Pak-Turk ties.

    Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit will have a positive impact on bilateral relations, particularly in the aspects of economic contacts, trade expansion and institutional linkages, Qazi said.

    He said the Turkish prime minister was accompanied by a strong trade delegation characterizing Turkey's desire to expand its economic ties with Pakistan. In an effort to facilitate this, the two sides have signed a MoU whereby businessmen would be granted 90 days visa on arrival at their respective airports.

    Significantly, the former ambassador noted that this came in the wake of container Train Service launched between Pakistan and Turkey in August this year, which will strengthen the bilateral economic contacts and help expansion of trade and investment.

    Additionally, he added, agreement has been reached between the respective Foreign Service academies of Pakistan and Turkey to provide training to officers nominated by each side.

    These agreements signify the desire of the two governments to strengthen their institutional linkages which will give a fillip to the bilateral relations, Qazi observed.

    He said Turkey has also played a positive role in trying to remove misunderstandings between Pakistan and the Karzai government in Kabul.

    The last trilateral meeting between the heads of states was hosted by Turkey months ago, following which hostile statements against Pakistan by President Karzai and their spokesperson have ceased since some time, he said.

    On the long-lasting anti-terror war, the former ambassador said Pakistan and Turkey have both been victims of terrorism and have suffered extensive loss of life and property.

    He said Turkey has full understanding for the predicament faced by Pakistan and joint efforts between the regional countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey, especially, in intelligence sharing as well as cooperation in tackling the root causes of terrorism can help in grappling the difficult situation and alleviating the sufferings of the people in the region.

    The Turkish prime minister wrapped up his three-day official visit to Pakistan and left for Iran on Monday. During the visit, the prime minister also went to the Pakistani side of Kashmir, aimed at assessing the reconstruction work done by the Turkish companies after the devastation caused by the 2005 earthquake.