Islamabad:
Pakistan and Turkiye tried to elaborate on their defense cooperation in the midst of regional instability, as the two sides, in the level negotiations here on Wednesday, promised to increase bilateral trade to $ 5 billion.
Turkish Foreign Minister Fida Hakan and Minister of Defense Yasar cares, who arrived at Islamabad on Tuesday night, held a series of meetings with Pakistani civilian and military leaders.
Turkiye has emerged a strong supporter of Pakistan in the wake of recent conflict with India. The presence of Turkish foreign and defense ministers in Islamabad highlighted the elaborate cooperation and increased high -level exchanges between the two countries.
While Foreign Minister Hakan, who also joined the Minister of Defense, held formal conversations with Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister’s office, where Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, National Security Security and Direcotr General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Officials were also presented.
The presence of the top civilian and military leadership of Pakistan highlighted the importance of close ties with Turkey.
According to an official distribution, the prime minister emphasized the long -standing fraternal bonds between Pakistan and Turkiye, who said that there is still deeply rooted in shared history, culture and mutual respect.
He expressed satisfaction over the positive course for bilateral connections and confirmed Pakistan’s unwavering obligation to further strengthen cooperation with Turkiye in various areas, including trade, investment, technology and defense.
Remembering his interaction with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the year, including the most recent meeting between the two leaders in the margins for the 17th ECO summit, Shehbaz Pakistan’s regular decision to transform Pak-Turkiye binds into a strategic partnership in the coming days.
The Prime Minister, who greeted the call for the joint commission meeting, co -chair of Dar and Fidan, expressed hope that the bilateral relations between the two countries would gain further momentum, which led to strengthening cooperation in multifaceted areas.
While repeating both countries to continue their strong and unwavering support for each other’s core interests, the prime minister emphasized the need for closer coordination between the two sides in the midst of the rapidly developing regional and global environment, especially in connection with Gaza and Iran.
He again expressed his deepest gratitude to the Turkish nation and leadership of their steadfast support to Pakistan during recent Indian aggression.
The Prime Minister emphasized the need for coordinated efforts from both sides to improve bilateral trade to the mutually agreed target of $ 5 billion. He highlighted Pakistan’s investor -friendly policies and invited Turkish companies to expand their investment imprints in Pakistan and invited the Turkish side to share his expertise to help with Pakistan’s structural reforms, economic growth and development efforts.
Meanwhile, Fidan emphasized at a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Dar the ongoing efforts to increase the bilateral trading volume to $ 5 billion. He noted that both countries assessed collaborative mechanisms in sectors such as mining, natural gas, oil and rare groundings.
“In this context, the agreement signed in April between Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) and Pakistan’s national oil companies, a very important step forward,” Fidan said. “This is one of the results of the more institutionalized approach we are working to establish,” he added.
Dar said that Islamabad and Ankara have agreed to strengthen cooperation in a number of areas, including economics, defense industry, energy and infrastructure. Dar said that Islamabad praises the Turkish defense industry and said that Islamabad wants to strengthen its ongoing strategic and defense industries cooperation and promote peace and stability in the region.
The two sides are “active” engaged in various activities, including capacity building in terrorism, Dar said. Turkish companies will also participate in the privatization of distribution companies in the electricity sector, he added.
The two sides that Dar continued, pursued the creation of a special economic zone dedicated to Turkish entrepreneurs in Karachi and Istanbul. “We are actively following up taking advantage of Turkish experience and expertise in shipwreck and storage and efficient use of agricultural water,” Dar said.
He said that Islamabad and Ankara agreed to revive the long -sleeping joint ministerial commission after a 11 -year -old hiatus, which will be co -chair of Pakistan’s trade minister Jam Kamal and Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Carries. “All this work will lay a solid foundation for the eighth strategic collaborative council at a high level,” which will be held next year in Turkiye, he added.
In a separate commitment, the Turkish Defense Minister of Defense Met met with air chef zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu at the air headquarters to assess the state of Bilateral Defense cooperation and discuss new regional threats.
According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), both sides agreed to create joint working groups to elaborate on the collaboration in aviation technologies, advanced training and new warfare.
Carries praised the operational readiness for Pakistan Air Force (PAF), especially during its recent conflict with India, and expressed interest in expanding partnerships in the industry-to-industry.
He also emphasized the importance of joint ventures in disturbing technologies, including unmanned air systems, advanced Avionik and pilot exchange programs. Both sides promised to improve joint air exercises and end the plans for more intensive training collaboration.
ISPR said the meeting reflected the “shared commitment from both fraternal nations to improve strategic cooperation, solidify defense ties and promote lasting institutional relations between the armed forces in Pakistan and Turkiye”.
