Second round of Pakistan-Turkey consultations on UN related matters held in Islamabad

Islamabad [Pakistan], Jan. 18 (ANI): The second round of Pakistan-Turkey consultations on UN related matters was held on Tuesday in Islamabad. The Turkish delegation was led by Ambassador Hasan Ulusoy, Director General for Multilateral Political Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Pakistan side was led by Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Director General (UN), Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Pakistan and Turkey exchanged views on a wide range of issues including UN Security Council reform, human rights and humanitarian issues, refugees, cooperation in the context of ECOSOC, Sustainable Development Goals, political and peace and security issues, counter-terrorism, combating Islamophobia and religious discrimination, and candidatures in international organizations. Both sides welcomed that the excellent bilateral relations and similarity of views, guided by the political leadership of the two countries, was also manifest in common understanding, mutual support, and close collaboration on a host of issues at the United Nations and other multilateral fora. The two sides reiterated the common desire and commitment to further strengthen this cooperation in the years ahead and also reaffirmed faith in United Nations and multilateralism as the best mechanisms for collectively addressing the challenges faced by the international community. The visiting delegation also called on Foreign Secretary, Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry. The Foreign Secretary noted that the consultations would deepen relations and help identify new avenues of cooperation between the two countries at multilateral fora. Pakistan-Turkey consultations on UN related matters are part of the wider relationship between the two countries. The first round of these consultations was held at Ankara in September 2015. (ANI)