DAWN Special Report on Turkey 2014

1. ADVERT ISEMENT SUPPLEMENT DAWN WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 29, 2014 01
H.E. Mr Sadik Babur Girgin
Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Pakistan
THE 15th session of the Turkish-Pakistan Joint Ministerial
Commission for Economic and Technical Cooperation,
October 15-16, 2014
Turkey, a transcontinental
business destination
A s a result of
structural trans-formation
dur-ing
the three
decades, Turkey became the
17th largest economy in the
World and 6th largest econo-my
in Europe.Turkey has the
largest free market economy
and is the biggest industrial
power among countries situ-ated
between Italy and
China.With its economic per-formance,
Turkey is one of
the growth engines of the
newly emerging multi-polar
global economic system.
Istanbul is not only the busi-ness
center of the region, it is
the center of global diploma-cy,
a major transport hub, as
well as a busy cultural and
tourism destination. It is also
rapidly building its techno-logical
and financial infra-structure
in order to become
a global financial center.
As a country which is well
integrated into the European
market by way of the customs
union, Turkish companies
possess a high level of expert-ise
Mr Murat Onart
Consul General of the Republic of Turkey in Karachi
and competitive power in
production, export and
investment related activities.
They have also accessed and
established their presence in
other rising economic
regions, such as the Middle
East, Gulf Countries, Africa,
CIS and the Asia-Pacific.
With its transcontinental
position, Turkey is an ideal
global business destination
between Asia, the center of
global growth, and the Euro
Zone, the largest single mar-ket.
Foreign Economic
Relations Board (DEIK);
Global Brand of Turkish
Private Sector
DEIK, the gateway of the
Turkish private sector to the
world, was founded to moni-tor
and develop Turkey’s eco-nomic,
commercial, industri-al
and financial relations
with foreign countries and
international organizations.
It has 99 founding institu-tions,
representing all sectors
of the Turkish private sector.
DEIK operates through
Bilateral Business Councils
which are established by a
cooperation agreement
signed with foreign counter-parts.
The Business Councils
have two sides; one on the
Turkish side and the other a
counterpart organization in
the relevant country. As of
October 2014, there are 199
business councils operating
under DEIK. Headquartered
in Istanbul, DEIK has repre-sentatives
in 65 cities in
Turkey as well as in the
Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus.
Having a pioneering role
in Turkey’s relations with
international organizations,
DEIK works to develop coop-eration
with international
organizations. DEIK also
attaches great importance to
the regions and sectors in
which the activities of
Turkish businessmen are con-centrated
or developing, and
organizes activities with the
participation of high-level
representatives of those sec-tors
and regions.
DEIK plays the leading
role as an intermediary
between the Turkish private
sector and global business
community. With its nation-al,
regional and global net-work;
its professional team,
and its close ties with the
public sector, DEIK is ready
to support and guide all kind
of business initiatives in
Turkey. ■
H.E. Mr Muhammad Haroon Shaukat
Ambassador of Pakistan to Turkey
T oday, the people of Turkey are celebrating 91st anniversary of the founding
of the Republic of Turkey. Pakistan and Turkey enjoy very special and time
tested relations.These brotherly ties are underpinned by a huge reservoir of emo-tions
of friendship, goodwill and mutual trust. The governments of Pakistan and
Turkey are keen to further deepen and strengthen their bilateral ties in all
spheres specially economic and commercial relations. The institutional mecha-nism
of the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council is an ideal forum for this
objective.
The Government of Pakistan is pursuing a comprehensive and multi-faceted
agenda of socio-economic development and social welfare.Turkey with its strong
economy and excellent development model in the last decade has emerged as an
ideal and strategic development partner for Pakistan.The two governments are vigorously working for pro-viding
facilitative frameworks and conducive conditions to the traders, entrepreneurs and investors of the
two countries. A concerted effort is underway for creating an effective interface between the private sec-tors
of the two countries. Furthermore, in the complex and difficult regional environment, the two leading
Muslim democracies, Pakistan and Turkey are factors of stability and harmony in the broader region.
On this auspicious occasion, I wish to convey our profound sentiments of friendship and good wishes to the
people and the Government of Turkey for their continued success. I pray for everlasting friendship and broth-erhood
between our two peoples.
Yasasin Pakistan-Türkiye Dostlugu. ■
Dr.Yusuf Junaid
Consul General of Pakistan in Istanbul
I greet the people and Government of Turkey on their 91st National Day. Since
the founding of the Republic of Turkey on October 29, the Turkish nation has
come a long way. During their long journey of statehood, Pakistan and Turkey have
always stood by each other in good and bad times. Though separated geographi-cally,
we are “one nation, two states.”
The present governments of both Pakistan and Turkey are keen to further
strengthen political, social, commercial and defence ties and make it an exempla-ry
strategic partnership.While welfare of the people tops the agenda of both the
elected governments, it is our desire that we should further enhance our commer-cial
relations. Pakistan Consulate in Istanbul will extend a helping hand and shall
facilitate business communities of Turkey and Pakistan to boost our existing com-mercial
ties and realize its true potential.
The recently completed projects by Turkish firms including Wind Farm in Jhimper, the Metro Bus and
Urban Waste Management in Lahore, etc. could be a model to follow and extend the same to many other
Pakistani cities. Similarly great potential exists for collaboration in the energy, construction, agro-based
industry and municipal services.
Long live Pak-Turk friendship! ■
T urkey was proclaimed a republic 91 years ago, on 29th October 1923, by the
Grand National Assembly. We pay tribute to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the
founder of the Republic of Turkey, and to his comrades-in-arms, and also to all our
martyrs of all conflicts.Today we also remember once again, the support and soli-darity
extended by the Muslims of the sub-continent, the forefathers of the broth-erly
Pakistani people, during Turkey’s war against foreign invaders between 1911-
1923.We shall never tire from reiterating our gratitude to them.
Relations between Turkey and Pakistan are excellent and we are proud that our
tradition of brotherly solidarity continues. In the past year, H.E. Recep Tayyip
Erdo?an visited Pakistan as Prime Minister, H.E. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif par-ticipated
in the Trilateral Summit in Ankara, and H.E. President Mamnoon Hussain
attended President Erdo?an’s oath taking ceremony, which attest to the intensity of our political relations. In
the economic sphere, business relations were increased through the Turkey-Pakistan Business Forums organ-ized
in Istanbul and in Lahore, and this month all dimensions of our economic relations were reviewed at the
15th Session of the Joint Ministerial Commission for Economic and Technical Cooperation. In the defence
field, we were proud to hold the “Jinnah 2014” combined exercise in Turkey, in memory of Quaid-i Azam.
Regarding cultural relations, we have been celebrating the Turkey-Pakistan Cultural Year in both countries
with various activities. In the field of education, we are happy to see increasing cooperation among our uni-versities
and increasing number of student exchanges.We look forward to the 4th meeting of the High Level
Strategic Cooperation Council to be chaired by both Prime Ministers, in the coming months.We will contin-ue
to work to further develop our brotherly relations in the future and pass it on to our younger generations.
May the Turkish-Pakistani friendship and brotherhood last forever. ■
I t gives me great pleasure to address you on the 91st anniversary of the birth of
the Republic of Turkey.
Most of my childhood in Ankara was spent around “Cinnah Bulvari” (Jinnah
Boulevard) which is one of the main arteries of my hometown. Taking Shahrah-e-
Kemal Ataturk during one of my first visits to the Sindh Assembly made me feel
proud to be Turkish in this brotherly country.
We are taught that countries do not have friends but common interests. But rela-tions
between Turkey and Pakistan are exceptional as we are true brothers.
To serve in a brotherly country with a positive agenda was one of the main reasons
which brought me to Karachi.Although economic and trade relations have much room
for improvement to reach their true potential, it is in the cultural field that most achievements have been realised
and 2014 is being celebrated as cultural year in both countries. I am especially pleased with the growing numbers
of brilliant Pakistani students who chose to continue their studies in Turkey.
Together with my wife Sule,we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the people of Karachi, Sindh
and Pakistan for their incredible hospitality, their precious friendship and their continuing support. ■
Ömer Cihad VARDAN
President, Foreign Economic
Relations Board (DEIK)
THE visit of H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Pakistan,
December 24, 2013
PAKISTAN-Turkey Business Forum meeting in Lahore,
December 23, 2013
PAKISTAN Air Force F-16 Modernization Program delivery
ceremony of the last aircraft, September 2, 2014

2. 02 DAWN WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 29, 2014 ADVERT ISEMENT SUPPLEMENT
Bilkent engineering students triumph in
international and national competitions
BILKENT IE students Nazli Akar, Basak Kepir, Çagil
Koçyigit, Isil Koyuncu, Melis Beren Özer and Tunca
Türkoglu have been awarded the Operations Research
and the Management Sciences (INFORMS)
Undergraduate Operations Research Prize for their IE
477-478 System Design project entitled ‘Flight
Scheduling Optimization and Automation for
AnadoluJet’. The award was presented during the
INFORMS Annual Meeting in Minneapolis. INFORMS is
the largest professional society in the world in the field of
operations research, management science and analytics.
The Undergraduate Operations Research Prize
Competition is held each year to honor a student or group
of students who conducted a significant applied project
in operations research or management science and/or
original, important theoretical or applied research in
operations research or management science while
enrolled as an undergraduate.The submissions vary from
single-authored theoretical research papers to applied
projects conducted by student teams. The overwhelming
majority of submitted papers have been of exceptional
quality, with a few being published in highly-regarded
academic journals.
A TEAM of Bilkent CS and EEE students, TechWeb, com-posed
of members Mehmet Furkan Sahin, Baraa Orabi and
Erdem Biyik, took the first place in Turkey in the IEE
Extreme 7.0 Programming Competition. TechWeb was
ranked 100th among all 7,500 participants worldwide. IEE
Extreme is a 24-hour global programming competition that
takes place every year, organized by the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world’s
largest professional association. The other Bilkent teams
participating in the competition were System Exit (fourth
place in Turkey), Replay (sixth), BilkentInvokers (seventh)
and HAL9K (eighth).
BILKENT EEE students Nurdan Kilinçoglu and Özge
Göktürk were selected for the final round of the 2014 ‘Go
Green in the City’ international case challenge organized by
Schneider Electric, which was held in Paris. The annual
event promotes the emergence of innovative solutions to
meet the future challenges of energy management.This
year's competition attracted 12,000 students from 159 coun-tries
around the world, with the top 12 teams presenting
their smart energy initiatives to a jury in the final round.
Nurdan and Özge offered a method for optimizing energy
use and reducing the cost of street lighting.
A team of Bilkent IE students has come in second in the
Idea Trophy contest organized by Unilever Turkey. Unilever
IdeaTrophy gives university students the opportunity to learn
how business works in real life while developing their skills
and abilities. Magnumania, a team made up of Bilkent stu-dents
Sila Sener,Aysegül Özge Ari and Güliz Bilgütay, partic-ipated
in the final camp held in Istanbul and presented their
project to a panel of Unilever Turkey board members.
Magnumania was selected as the first runner-up by the panel.
********
Team Null from Bilkent, consisting of CS students Cihat
Öge (captain), Ali Yesilyaprak, Alim Gökkaya, Alper
Gündogdu and Furkan Mustafa Akdemir, took the second
place in Siber Meydan, a cyber security competition for
university students. Siber Meydan was organized by
TÜBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research
Council of Turkey) Cyber Security Institute in conjunction
with the National Cyber Security Strategy and Action Plan.
The competition took place in two rounds: a qualification
and a final round. A total of 65 teams made up of 256 stu-dents
participated in the qualification round, whilethe top-
10 teams were invited for the final round.
********
Bilkent ME undergraduate Arda Seçme won the
TÜBITAK Undergraduate Research Project Award. Arda
Seçmewill be working on ‘Mass Sensing with Square-
Shaped Nanoscale Resonators’. Arda joins fellow ME stu-dents
Gökberk Kabacaoglu, Ilbey Karakurt, Alper Özogul
and Berkin Uluutku, who were the past recipients of the
undergraduate research project award. The outcomes of
these research projects have been published in Applied
Surface Science and Journal of Vacuum Science &
Technology B.
Pakistan and Turkey
Promoting business relations
B est wishes to our Turk broth-ers
on their 91st Republic
Day. We wish the Turkish
nation a glorious future.
Pakistan truly values the brotherly rela-tionship
with our Turkish brothers.
Pakistan and Turkey are two nations
with one soul. Pakistan may have many
friends and allies but has only one
brother and that is Turkey.
We at Gulhane are trying to promote
business ties between Turkey and
Pakistan by introducing Turkish, light-ing,
home décor and other products into
Pakistan. Trade ties between two
nations are a great way to expand and
enhance cultural ties, and people to peo-ple
contacts. If the two nations can
expand joint projects and collabora-tions,
there is a tremendous opportunity
for the two countries to expand their
bilateral trade and enjoy economic ben-efits.
The governments of two nations must
work fast to conclude a trade agreement
between the two nations so that bilater-al
trade may expand, resulting in eco-nomic
benefits for both countries.
Current trade volume between the two
countries do not reflect the actual trade
potential.
Also it’s imperative to look into
expanding transportation and communi-cation
routes between both the countries.
Lastly, this special supplement to
commemorate the Republic Day of
Turkey is a great initiative by Dawn,
hopefully this will become a tradition
and continue in future. ■
By Talha Ahmed, Gulhane
Alma Matters - gateway to education in Turkey
T urkey is a land of remarkable
opportunities - a country rich
in history, cultural diver-sityand
one that has gone
through immense economic revolution.
It has been a seat of learning for cen-turies.
Higher education in Turkey offers
widespread network of universities
exceeding well over 180; Turkeyattracts
a large influx of international students
from all corners of the world, exceeding
50,000 annually.
The incentive to pursue higher educa-tion
in Turkey is not merely an outlook of
an inexpensive, quality education but it
provides students to experience the rich-ness
of cultures that blend so well here.
The gateway to education in Turkey -
Alma Matters is an international study
abroad consultancy firm that can help
students find one of the best places to
study based on financial, academic and
personal needs.
Established in 2012, Alma Matters
has grown rapidly and now supports a
large network of international affiliates
and clients across the globe.
With a strong support network in
Turkey, Alma Matters has a direct link
with the Higher Education Commission.
We proudly represent some of the glob-ally
recognized universities in Turkey
including:
• Bilkent University,
• BahcesehirUniversity,
• IzmirUniversity ,
• AtilimUniversity ,
• IstanbulKulturUniversity,
• Istanbul Aydin University,
• METU
Making plans to study abroad can be
quite stressful as there are several
aspects to consider. Right fromplanning,
choosing the university, submitting your
application, organizing your visa, to
dropping you off safely at your accom-modation,
we assist youdiligently
throughout in the procedure. In addition
to this, we can assist you avail certain
scholarship opportunities offered by
institutions within Turkey.
Alma Matters has a well established
network across major cities ofPakistan
including Karachi, Lahore and
Islamabad. Our committed manage-ment
team consists of the CEO, Mr.
Tahawur Jafri, Country Manager -
Pakistan, Ms. Zohra Omar, Regional
Director - Pakistan, Mr. Shehzad Malik
and Regional Director - UK, Ms.
SairaZehra.
Our friendly team of experts provide
quality consultation and guidance that
favours an independent, individual
approach to every student.
Get your career on course - Come to
Turkey, Come to Alma Matters. ■
By Zohra Omar
Country Manager - Pakistan
METU team meets Alma Matters team in Pakistan

3. ADVERT ISEMENT SUPPLEMENT DAWN WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 29, 2014 03
Why Istanbul Aydin
University?
ADVANTAGES OF OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM
Double-Major Education
The undergraduate students of Istanbul Aydin University
can get a second Bachelor's degree program as well as their
original Bachelor's degree if they successfully complete at
least 36 credits in their second degree program.
Minor Education
The undergraduate students of Istanbul Aydin University
can get a Bachelor's degree of their original program as well
as a minor certificate if they successfully complete at least 18
credits in their minor program.
INTERDEPARTMENTAL TRANSFER SYSTEM
The students of Istanbul Aydin University can transfer to
those departments that match the entry requirements and
educational content of their original if they pass all courses
successfully after studying at least one term for their original
associate degree program and at least two terms for the under-graduate
program. Moreover, the students can use the lateral
transfer system if their exam results of the year of acceptance
(in the exam by Assessment Selection and Placement Center)
are equal to or higher than the base point of the programs to
which they want to transfer in Istanbul Aydin University.
CONTINUING EDUCATION AND RESEARCH
CENTER (CERC)
Continuing Education and Research Center contributes to
the skilled labor of the country by means of consultancy serv-ice
and training in the
areas of communications,
organization and manage-ment,
social skills, and pro-fessional
competences. It
provides training to at
least 10,000 people a year.
We organize individual-ized
education programs
for both our students and
different occupational
groups. We also organize
corporate trainings in line
with the requirements of
the companies.
• A university whose
diplomas are accredited
with the countries within
European Union and the
European Higher
Education area
• Only Turkish universi-ty
emphasizing applied
education with its thou-sands
of solution partners
in the industry
• Cooperation with internationally renowned universities
• Scholarships continued for the full matriculation period of
studies
• Highly qualified academic staff
• Two diplomas via double major program
• Opportunity to continue for bachelor studies for qualify-ing
associate degree students in Turkey or abroad at partner
institutions
• The biggest university laboratory complex in Turkey under
one roof
• University whose alumni are preferred in the business
world
• Social activities via student clubs
• Gaining scholarship opportunity during education
• Scholarship for achievement in sports
• Center for alumni employment
• Turkey's most preferred foundation university at the cen-tral
placement test for universities
• Host to national and international conferences ■
Ontex completes
three years in
Paving the way for
modernization
We need a qualified work- Pakistan
O ntex, Europe’s second largest hygienic dis-posables
company, marked the completion
of three years in Pakistan in 2014. From a
modest start in late 2011, when Ontex estab-lished
a local company and started to import and sell its
baby diapers brand Canbebe, the company has grown to
new heights.Today, Canbebe is established as a leading
baby diapers brand in Pakistan with nationwide distri-bution
and brand recognition as a high quality diaper.
Only one year after establishing its brand in the mar-ket,
Ontex set up a diaper manufacturing plant in
Karachi’s Port Qasim industrial area.
Its five million Euro investment in this plant was a
clear signal of the company’s belief that Pakistan is an
investment friendly country and one with massive poten-tial.
Few other multinational companies have moved
with such confidence into the Pakistan market. As a
result, Ontex Pakistan now employs over fifty people
nationwide and manufactures several sizes of Canbebe
locally, at international quality standards.
Ontex General Manager for Middle East and Africa,
Mr. Ozgur Akylidiz, who is based in Turkey stated:
“Pakistan not only offers a large and growing market of
middle class consumers, but is also a country with deep
historic brotherly relations with Turkey. Both of these
reasons made it easy for us to decide to invest in
Pakistan. I strongly believe that our investment here will
be successful and will help to further strengthen the tie
between our two nations.”
“We believe that Pakistan can in the near future serve
as an export hub for Ontex,” said Mr.Akyildiz.“For now,
our local manufacturing serves the needs of the Pakistan
market, but we intend to invest more in order to export
to the regional markets as well.
For this to happen,we need a stable regulatory system
for customs duties and other permissions. Also, we need
stable and affordable electricity supply so that we can
remain competitive as a local manufacturer.When this
happens, Karachi, Sindh province, and Pakistan will all
benefit.” ■
force, skilled in the use
of information technologies;
competent in the use of at least
one foreign language in busi-ness
life; who are inquisitive,
productive, innovative, partici-patory
and proactive on a glob-al
scale.
Given this need of our time,
we launched the first founda-tion
vocational school in our
country in order to provide
higher education opportunities
to high school and equivalent
schools’ alumni, educate the
Dr. Mustafa AYDIN,
qualified workforce which our
President - Board of
country needs and contribute
Trustees, Istanbul
to the improvement of human
capital. We later established
Aydin University
Istanbul Aydin University to
include undergraduate and graduate programs.
Istanbul Aydin University is a higher education institu-tion
with experienced academic staff, contemporary and
continuously updated programs, foreign language prepara-tion
program, modern technical equipment for learning, a
free and socially active campus life, providing you the
knowledge, the entrepreneurial and creative spirit required
for the 21. century.
I believe that modern Turkey will be able to rise as a leader
in science, technology and world politics with your efforts and
contributions. I hope that our students will discover and plan
the career that they dream and build a happy future for them-selves.
In order to realize these hopes and beliefs, we pursue our
continuous work at Istanbul Aydin University with the mis-sion
of becoming a model university and assuming an impor-tant
role in Turkey’s education sector. Our university, while
proceeding to educate the young generations in adopting the
Turkish Republic’s indispensable and fundamental values,
also undertakes a vision to become an entrepreneurial uni-versity
as a duty and responsibility.
We have a strong belief that Istanbul Aydin University will
educate individuals who will have opportunities and privi-leges
to develop themselves, follow the founding principles
of our nation, represent our country globally, help our coun-try
take its place among the leading countries in the world.■

4. 04 DAWN WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 29, 2014 ADVERT ISEMENT SUPPLEMENT
Zorlu Energy: best expertise in safer, greener and
efficient energy
Z orlu Energy Group is one of
the major IPPs (Independent
Power Producers) in Turkey
and Middle East and Asia
region with its investments in a wide
range of energy business line and creates
long term value for shareholders by help-ing
to meet increasing demand for energy
in a safe and responsible way.
Building on its growth in compliance
with the principle of product and service
variation in a bid to more efficiently use
the planet’s natural resources, Zorlu
Energy Group attaches a great deal of
importance on studies into the fields of
local and renewable energy, such as wind,
geothermal and hydroelectric energy.The
Group sets ambitious renewable energy
targets, installed and operated its own
renewable power systems, and signed
purchase agreements to buy directly from
renewable energy project operators,
bypassing utilities. The Group has a pas-sion
for continuous improvement, chal-lenges,
excellence and particularly value
people, the environment and integrity in
all national and international activities.
In this respect, renewable resources,
which Zorlu Energy deem indispensable
in its growth map and plays a strategic
importance.
The Group has set a target to unleash
the potential of energy to ensure sustain-ability
and a better life, as well as invest-ing
in domestic resources and installing
technological systems producing efficient
energy in the industry. Fulfilling each
stage of energy production in a comple-mentary
way from project design to con-struction
and from the operation to the
maintenance of power plants,The Group
renders such “turn-key delivery” services.
The Group’s activities ranges from elec-tricity
generation, trade to natural gas dis-tribution
and sales that are distinguished
in the energy sector both in Turkey and in
the Middle East and Asia region.
Zorlu Energy Group runs 745 MW
established power in Turkey, 1.011 MW in
total, with 7 hydroelectric, 2 geothermal,2
wind and 3 natural gas facilities in Turkey.
The Group owns established a wind ener-gy
plant of 56,4 MW in Pakistan with 100
% share and Dorad Natural Gas
Combined Cycle Plant of an established
power of 840 MW with 25 % share.
The Group is also active in runs natural
gas distribution operations in 20 residen-tial
areas to households and companies in
Gaziantep and Thrace regions within
Trakya and Gazdas Gaziantep Natural
Gas Distribution Inc. and also provides
CNG and LNG sales activities in Turkey
and abroad, under Zorlu Natural Gas
Import, Export and Wholesale Trade Inc.
and Zorlu Natural Gas Supply Company.
Unveiling Pakistan’s best and untouched
wind potential of the world
Zorlu Enerji,committed to undertaking
leading projects both in Turkey and
abroad, has completed Pakistan’s first pri-vate
sector energy investment in 2013 by
constructing the country’s first wind farm.
Utility interest in wind power is increasing
because it complements Pakistan’s
reliance on new energy resources and
more than 21,000 MW generation capabil-ities
were planned in order to decrease the
gap between supply and demand.
Therefore the company works hard to
unveil the best and untouched wind
potential of the world in Pakistan inte-grating
its expertise with full commitment
to the renewable energy investments.
Pakistan Wind Farm, with a capacity of
56.4 MW,was constructed in Jhimpir with
a US $ 151 million investment by Zorlu
Enerji Pakistan, which is 100 % owned by
Zorlu Enerji.The plant began commercial
sales of electricity on 26th July, 2013. It is
Pakistan’s first wind farm and is planned
to generate 159 million kWh of electricity
per year and will provide electricity for
350,000 houses.The plant will contribute
to the growth of Pakistan’s renewable
capacity and to the lowering of the coun-try’s
dependence on imported energy
sources.
Pakistan is ranked the second among
the best wind corridors in the world.The
wind corridor, on which the project is
located, is known as the Gharo-Jhimpir,
District Thatta-Sindh, efficient wind cor-ridor
and is regarded as one of the most
efficient wind corridors in the region,
which is windy for twelve months of the
year. Studies conducted in the region
show that the region has a wind poten-tial
of 60,000 MW. Zorlu Enerji Pakistan
has to option to expand the plant’s
installed capacity up to 300 MW.
A sales and implementation agree-ment
for the plant was signed with
Pakistan National Transmission and
Dispatch Company and Pakistan
Alternative Energy Development Board.
In accordance with this agreement, Zorlu
Enerji secured a 20-year power purchase
guarantee from the Pakistani govern-ment,
as well as a guarantee against any
risks related to a change in legislation or
wind speed.
The plant was also rewarded with the
“Middle East Renewables Deal of the
Year 2011 Award” by the Euromoney
Publications’ Project Finance maga-zine.
■
P akistan and Turkey enjoy the
best of relations, politically,
historically and culturally.
Turkish people use the word
‘KARDESH’ (beloved friend) for us. But
trade and economic relations do not
reflect the brotherly relations and much is
to be achieved in this area both by the
governments and private sector business-men
of the two countries.
The balance of payment has been in
favour of Pakistan for the last 12 years as
Pakistan exports are textile raw materials
i.e. cotton yarn, cotton cloth, Denim cloth
etc. and we mostly import raw material
from Turkey. The current bilateral trade
figure is approximately US$590 billion
fallen down from US$1.2 billion (2011)
due to the following reasons.
IMPEDIMENTS
The major impediments relate to the
governments of both countries who sho-uld
facilitate and then leave business to
business community of the two countries.
1) Turkish Government, in order to pro-tect
their textile industry imposed
‘COUNTERVAILING SAFEGUARD’
import duties on textile products and tex-tile
raw material from all over the world
including Pakistan in early 2011.
2) This issue was strongly taken up with
relevant Turkish authorities and in the
JOINT BUSINESS COUNCIL meeting
held at Karachi in October 2011, presided
by Chairmen from Pakistan and Turkey
Business Councils with more than 50 mem-bers
from both sides, the matter was dis-cussed
and some leading textile importers
from Turkey pointed out that bilateral
trade (which was US$1.2 billion) will
sharply fall as textile raw material from
Pakistan is used for value addition in
Turkey. Representations were made to rel-evant
authorities jointly but without result.
As expected,the figures went down to $750
million in the very first year (2012).
3) Inspite of very cordial relations
between the two sides, no Preferential
Trading Agreement (PTA) exists between
the two countries despite many meet-ings/
negotiations since 2011.This is an era
of regional trade and FTA’s and PTA’s
which bring WIN WIN situation to con-cerned
countries but unfortunately no
such agreement exists even in ECO
Region of which both countries are mem-bers.
4) Yet another impediment is that there
is no road or train transportation between
the two countries which effects early
arrival of goods in Pakistan or Turkey.
Presently the only means of transporta-tion
is shipping which takes 25/30 days
between Karachi and main Turkish ports.
5) Unfortunately the Islamabad-
Tehran-Istanbul (ITI) freight train which
made test runs in 2010 reaching in 14 days
has not taken off mainly due to opera-tional
problems (lack of locomotives etc)
from Pakistan side.
The bright side is that now Pakistan
Railways has successfully restarted its
freight trains within the country and new
locomotives are being Inducted in the sys-tem,
the Government of Pakistan should
immediately take measures to start this
important route. During the meeting of
ISTANBUL FORUM in February 2014 in
Ankara, the chambers of three countries
proposed that the ITI train link be extend-ed
by road from Islamabad to Afghanistan.
This was well taken at the high level
meeting of the Prime Minister of
Pakistan, Presidens of Afghanistan and
Turkey and was part of the Declaration
issued after the meeting.
It is pertinent to point out that the
fright rates should be competitive and
schedules be strictly adhered to get confi-dence
of the business community. The
bilateral trade with Turkey and Iran
together is approximately $ 1.6 billion
which Railways can target.
6) There is no road transportation
between the two countries although Iran
and Turkey have excellent road network.
Pakistan-Turkey Business Council realiz-ing
the fact made efforts through ECO
Chamber of Commerce to facilitate open-ing
of road transportation through trucks
and trailers etc. Pakistan Is the only coun-try
in ECO Region which has not ratified
the TIR Convention for facilitation of road
trade traffic inspite of assurances given. In
the recently concluded meeting of ECO
Chamber of Commerce in Karachi last
month, the other member countries took
note of the situation and requested
Pakistani business community i.e. FPCCI
to take up this matter on top priority with
GOP in order to expedite road transporta-tion.
In this connection, a trial run by
trucks was carried out which took about
10/11 days from Karachi to Istanbul.
7) As the European Union has allowed
GSP Plus status to Pakistan after fulfill-ing
all conditions, the TURKISH GOV-ERNMENT
should also grant the same
Status to Pakistani Goods which are
exported there, as Turkey is member of
European Customs Union for the last
many years. These measures will Boost
confidence and enhance the Bilateral
Trade at a fast pace.
These are the Major Impediments
which exist for many years and relate to
respective Governments who should facil-itate
the Private Sector by resolving these
issues asap.
BRIEF IMMEDIATE MEASURES FOR
EXPANSION OF BILATERAL TRADE
A) Government of Turkey should
Reconsider it’s decision and Exempt
Pakistan from Countervailing Duty on
Textiles Raw Materials and also allow
Pakistan the GSP PLUS status as they are
Members of EU Customs Union since 1996.
B) Governments of Turkey & Pakistan
should find ways and means to come to an
agreement for earliest Conclusion of PTA
for which Discussions/Negotiations are
taking place since 2011 without success.
For FTA (Free Trade Agreement) , GOP
may start Negotiations with EUROPEAN
UNION in order to Conclude this
Agreement with Turkey.
C) Also efforts are made for early con-clusion
of ECO Trade Agreement
(ECOTA) which covers Ten Countries
including Turkey for Reduced import tar-iff.
Only one ratification from One ECO
Member state is required for the imple-mentation/
Negotiations of ECOTA.
D) Government of Pakistan may facili-tate
Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul (ITI)
Railway route at the earliest and ensure
tight schedules to gain confidence of
Private Sector.
E) Earliest accession be given by the
goverment to the TIR Convention for
ECO Region in order to have Speedy and
Competitive Road Transportation by
Trucks and Trailers.
The private sectors of both countries
also have an important role to introduce
each other’s products and create aware-ness
by way of participating In trade
fairs in each other’s countries, taking
frequent trade specific product delega-tions
etc.
Turkey stands 6th as economic power
of Europe, literally producing everything
from raw material to itermediaries to
fnished high tech products.With reduced
rate of duties (under PTA), there is a large
scope of Turkish products to enter
Pakistani market which will lead to more
joint ventures between the two sides. The
bilateral trade figures can go beyond $2.5
billion if the respective governments
remove hurdles.
There are a number of top class
Turkish construction companies operat-ing
in Pakistan building highways,
dams, Infrastructure of ports etc besides
handling defence- related projects. The
first Wind Energy Project in Pakistan
was started by a Turkish Company who
are now investing more in the project.
There are Turkish Investments in tex-tiles,
chemicals,food, pipes and many
other sectors. Besides we enjoy eating
famous ADANA KEBABS at Solen
Resturant in Karachi. ■
By Amjad Rafi, Chairman Pakistan-Turkey economic and trade relations
Pakistan-Turkey Business Council