Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan Ms. Andleeb Abbas, who was leading Pakistan delegation to the 24th Council of Ministers Meeting of ECO in Antalya, held bilateral meetings on the sidelines with the Foreign Minister of Turkey and Secretary General of ECO.

During her meeting with the Turkish Foreign Minister H.E. Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Parliamentary Secretary congratulated Turkey for successful holding of the ECO Council of Ministers meeting in Antalya. She apprised the Turkish Foreign Minister on the gross human rights violations in Kashmir since India’s unilateral and illegal actions of 5 August in the Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir. She highlighted the ongoing sufferings of the innocent people and assured that Pakistan would raise its voice at every fora against the human rights violations in IoJ&K. She thanked the Turkish Government for its steadfast support and principled stance on the issue of Kashmir.

The Parliamentary Secretary mentioned that the leadership and people of Pakistan were looking forward to receiving the Honorable Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey in the coming few weeks.

The Turkish Foreign Minister reciprocated the warm sentiments and thanked Parliamentary Secretary for her novel and constructive approach to make ECO more effective and in sync with the modern times and challenges. He assured Turkey’s unwavering support on Kashmir dispute even though certain quarters were not happy about it.

In her bilateral meeting with the Secretary General of ECO, Dr. Hadi Soleimanpour, the Parliamentary Secretary exchanged views on the recent developments in the region and matters relating to the Economic Cooperation Organization. They agreed that ECO should be transformed into an effective mechanism for economic integration in order to bring progress and prosperity to the region. Dr. Hadi Soleimanpour thanked Pakistan for its cooperation and for its significant contribution for the ECO. He deeply appreciated the statement made by the Parliamentary Secretary on the floor of COM meeting today.