Islamabad: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) should be "better explained to Turkish entrepreneurs", adding that the country is "ready to work on that".

Speaking at the Pakistan-Turkey Business and Investment Forum in here alongside Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Turkish president, seemingly referring to CPEC, said: "Turkey is not given the same opportunities that are offered to some other countries."

"Currently, our trade is only $800 m which is not acceptable for us. Our mutual population is over 300 million. Therefore, we have to bring our trade to the level we deserve," he maintained, adding that we cannot allow protectionism to hinder bilateral trade.

"So we should quickly increase our bilateral trade to $1 billion, and then bring it up to $5 billion. We cannot obtain these objectives only through goodwill, we have to take determined, clear, and strong steps towards our common objectives."

Commenting on Turkish president's address at the joint session of Parliament earlier in the day, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said that he [Erdogan] can win the next election in Pakistan.

"I saw the treasury benches thumping their desks as well as the opposition benches," he said, stressing that the current government will do everything to boost business between the two countries.

In order to achieve this, we need the support of the business community in Pakistan, he added.

Inviting Turkey to invest in the country, the premier stated that, under his leadership, Pakistan jumped 28 spots on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business index. He also assured to fully facilitate the Turkish business community in their joint ventures with Pakistani companies.