ISLAMABAD, FEB 25, SPA -- President General Pervez Musharraf has appreciated the construction of 14 quality educational institutions in Pakistan by the Turkish businessmen. There is immense scope of achieving new levels of economic and trade ties between the two countries through collaboration in all sectors, the president while talking to a Turkish delegation comprising parliamentarians, businessmen, industrialists, educationists, according to an official statement. Musharraf said the economic and trade relations do not match the excellent political and diplomatic ties enjoyed by Pakistan and Turkey. He said there was vast scope of cooperation for joint ventures in all areas, between the private sectors of the two countries. He said Pakistan offers lucrative investment opportunities and a legal framework to protect foreign investments, besides policies of de-regulation, liberalization and privatization that are aimed at encouraging foreign entrepreneurs to make investments in diverse fields. The president informed the Turkish delegation, visiting Pakistan under the aegis of Pak-Turk International Educational Foundation, that all sectors of economy in Pakistan are open to foreign investment with no restrictions on transfer of profits. The Turkish delegation led by Deputy Speaker of Turkish Grand Assembly Ismail Alptekin thanked the President for providing them the opportunity to discuss business ventures. He also apprised the President of various projects Turkish businessmen are keen to undertake in Pakistan. The Turkish delegation informed the President about the setting up of modern fully-equipped schools in various cities and towns of the country and said it is a gift by the businessmen from the Turkish city of Kayseri for the brotherly people of Pakistan. The schools would be run by the Pakistan-Turkish Friendship Association and work on three schools in Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar was in progress.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/428138