Turkish investors urged to boost tourism in Pakistan's northern areas

By Masood Sattar Khan

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Pakistan is keen for Turkey investment in the country’s northern areas bordering China to help boost tourism in the scenic region. 

The investment offer was extended by Ali Amin Gandapur, Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, in a meeting with Gokhan Umut, head of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in Pakistan. 

Around two million tourists visit these picturesque Gilgit-Baltistan areas every year, Gandapur informed Umut, emphasizing the immense potential for Turkish and other foreign investors in the region’s tourism sector. 

He informed the Turkish delegation that the government was working to set up economic zones in Gilgit-Baltistan that will open new avenues for industrial development in the region. 

The economic zones are part of the multi billion-dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), an extensive network of roads, railways, and pipelines that aims to connect China’s northwestern Xinjiang province to the port of Gwadar in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province. The mountainous region of Gilgit-Baltistan borders China is a gateway for the economic corridor.