‘Trusted friend’: Pak to deepen defence relations with Turkiye

Pakistan and Turkiye on Wednesday agreed to boost their cooperation in a range of sectors, including defence, trade, energy and infrastructure, aiming to enhance bilateral trade volume to $5 billion.

This was agreed during talks between Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Defence Minister Yasar Guler with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar here.

“Pakistan would like to benefit from Turkiye’s expertise and experiences in this (defence) field,” Dar said, adding that both countries will further strengthen their cooperation to promote peace and stability in the entire region.

“We are actively engaged in different activities, including capacity building and counterterrorism,” Dar said, describing Turkiye as a “trusted friend” and a “reliable brother”.

The Turkish Foreign Minister called cooperation in the field of defence industry a “strategic step”, and said it would be further strengthened in the coming days.

He said that both countries will continue to support each other in countering terrorism.

Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad train link revival on cards

“We are pursuing the establishment of a Special Economic Zone dedicated to Turkish entrepreneurs at Karachi,” Dar said while addressing a joint press conference alongside Fidan. He also mentioned other engagements, including the revival of the Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad train, saying, “Our delegations are meeting in the coming weeks to finalise the roadmap for revival.”

Dar said Pakistan had already allocated land for the construction of Turkiye’s Maarif School in Muzaffarabad. “A Maarif Foundation delegation is visiting Muzaffarabad today and visiting the site for evaluation,” he said.

Fidan noted that both countries have expanded their relations in the fields of economy, energy, defence, industry, education and culture, adding that they are aiming to increase their commercial relations to $5 billion. Referring to the recent Pakistan-India conflict, Fidan was “appreciative of Pakistan’s wisdom-oriented attitude”, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.