ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani returned home Thursday after completing his four-day official visit to Turkey, where he held talks with the Turkish leadership and local businessmen to give further boost to the existing friendly relations between the two countries.Earlier, the Prime Minister and his cabinet members were seen off at the Ataturk Airport by Governor Istanbul Huseyin Avnimutlu and other senior officials of the Turkish Government.During his stay in Ankara, the Prime Minister met Turkish President Abdullah Gul who conferred on him the award ‘Jamhuriyat Nishan’ at a special investiture ceremony, in recognition of his services for promoting brotherly relations between the two countries.
Gilani besides holding talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan co-chaired the inaugural session of High Level Cooperation Council (HLCC), which is a unique platform to give a long-term strategic direction to bilateral relations between Pakistan and Turkey. He also addressed the Turkish Grand National Assembly.In the ancient city of Istanbul, Gilani had an interaction with Turkish business community at a luncheon hosted by Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) of Turkey. Turkey’s Marmara University at a special convocation awarded Prime Minister Gilani the honorary doctorate degree in journalism.Those who accompanied Prime Minister during his visit to Turkey included First Lady Fauzia Gilani, Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Petroleum Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Minister for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and Chairman Board of Investment Saleem Mandviwala – App
