Pakistan, Turkiye progress interconnected; PM Sharif, President Erdogan discuss trade, defence in Istanbul

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reaffirmed his country's support for Turkiye, noting that Ankara's success and Islamabad's progress are interconnected.

Addressing a joint press conference in Istanbul on Saturday, Sharif assured Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Islamabad's commitment to further strengthening the bilateral partnership, while Erdogan described defence cooperation as the cornerstone of economic relations between the two countries.

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Sharif said "Turkiye's success is Pakistan's success, Pakistan's progress is Turkiye's progress."

Islamabad and Ankara agreed to boost economic relations and reaffirmed their commitment to increasing bilateral trade to USD 5 billion.

As of 2024, bilateral trade between the two countries stood at around USD 1.3 billion, according to Turkiye's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Erdogan encouraged investors to increase business activities in Pakistan. "Our cooperation in the defence industry, one of the most important elements of our economic relations, is developing day by day with new projects," the Turkish president said in a post on X on Saturday.

"We want to deepen our cooperation with Pakistan in the areas of energy, transportation, critical minerals, and information technologies," the Turkish president added.

Relevant ministries of both countries were working on a planned special economic zone in Karachi, while negotiations continued to expand the financial trade agreement, Erdogan said.

Erdogan also praised Pakistan's peace efforts in West Asia. "Thanks to the calm achieved with the Islamabad Agreement, the entire world has taken a deep breath," he said.

Sharif said the Pakistan-Turkiye Business Conference has reinforced his belief that economic relations were entering a new phase.

Both leaders expressed satisfaction over growing momentum in bilateral trade, investment and industrial cooperation.

The total number of Turkish investments in Pakistan is around USD 2 billion, and Turkish contracting companies have undertaken 72 projects in Pakistan with a total value of around USD 3.5 billion as of 2024, according to the Turkish foreign office.

The prime minister arrived in Istanbul on Friday for a bilateral visit after attending the funeral rites of Iran's slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran.