ANKARA (AA) - Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, who is currently in Turkey, said on Thursday that Pakistan was the country which was pleased the most about Turkey's joining the EU in the future.
''The thing that is good for Turkey will also be good for Pakistan,'' told Aziz in a conference on ''Pakistan: Encouragement of Regional Peace & Development'' held at Middle East Technical University (METU).
Noting that Turkey and Pakistan shared similar views about international and regional issues, Aziz said that both countries had important status in encouraging regional peace and development.
Aziz stressed that Pakistan which developed its nuclear technology only for defensive purposes didn't threaten any country, and it didn't have the intention of dominating the region.
Noting that the basic reasons of terrorism should be removed to counter terrorism, Aziz said that Muslim countries had an important role to play in getting rid of the understanding that ''Islam nourished terrorism and that there would be an indispensable clash of civilizations between the West and the Muslim countries.''
Referring to his meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Aziz said that they decided to further improve cooperation between the two countries in trade, investment and defense issues.
Responding to a question about Cyprus, Aziz said that Pakistan was ready to support every step which Turkey would take for settlement of Cyprus problem. ''We are backing whatever Turkey does about Cyprus,'' he added.
(֓-A֩
2005-06-02