ISTANBUL: Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday said Islamabad and Ankara had reaffirmed their target of increasing bilateral trade to $5 billion, as the two countries pledged to deepen cooperation across trade, investment, defence, energy and technology.
President Erdoğan made the remarks during a joint press conference in Istanbul with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is on an official visit to Türkiye. The two leaders held a bilateral meeting before addressing the media.
“In our talks today, we exchanged views on global and regional issues with a particular focus on our bilateral relations,” President Erdoğan said.
Affirming that Türkiye’s solidarity with Pakistan “continues in every field”, he said both sides discussed steps to further strengthen trade and investment relations in line with the spirit of brotherhood between the two countries.
“We have reaffirmed our target of increasing our trade volume to the previously set level of $5 billion,” Erdoğan said, referring to the goal first set following potential identified in 2022 and reaffirmed in May 2024.
The Turkish president said the trade ministries of both countries were working on establishing a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Karachi for Turkish and Pakistani businesses.
He added that negotiations were also continuing to expand the scope of the Pakistan-Türkiye Preferential Trade Agreement, expressing confidence that the Pakistan-Türkiye Business-to-Business (B2B) Conference would further strengthen investment ties.
“We, too, encourage our investors to engage in more activities in Pakistan,” he added.
Highlighting defence cooperation as one of the pillars of bilateral economic relations, Erdoğan said collaboration in the defence industry was expanding steadily through new projects.
“We are implementing these projects step by step, and I am confident and I believe that they will further strengthen Pakistan,” he said.
The Turkish president also expressed his country’s desire to deepen cooperation with Pakistan in the fields of energy, transportation, critical minerals and information technology.
“I hope that today’s meeting and the decisions we have reached will lead to beneficial outcomes,” he concluded.
At the outset of his address, Erdoğan praised Pakistan’s role in mediating between the United States and Iran, which resulted in an understanding last month to end the conflict between the two countries.
He said the world had “breathed a sigh of relief” following the calm achieved through the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, signed on June 18 to end the US-Iran war.
Referring to reports in the international media about challenges in the negotiation process, Erdoğan congratulated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Pakistani people for their efforts in helping achieve the breakthrough.
“We too have supported and continue to support every step that will help to reduce tensions in our region and resolve issues through diplomatic means,” he said.
The Turkish president said Ankara was closely monitoring what he described as the Israeli administration’s provocations aimed at undermining the agreement between the United States and Iran.
He also criticised Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza, saying the current Israeli government should not be allowed to plunge the region back into conflict.
“Türkiye seeks the establishment of an environment in which all the peoples of the region, regardless of their faith, can live in peace and security,” Erdoğan said.
He stressed that no lasting solution could succeed without the active participation of countries in the region and reaffirmed Türkiye’s commitment to working with “brotherly countries, foremost among them Pakistan”, to promote regional peace, stability and prosperity.
Erdoğan also expressed condolences over Friday’s road accident near the Balochistan-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa border that claimed 40 lives.
Earlier, President Erdoğan received Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at Vahdettin Palace, where an official welcome ceremony was held before the two leaders held bilateral talks followed by delegation-level discussions.
The closed-door meeting was attended by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, National Intelligence Organisation chief İbrahim Kalın, Communications Director Burhanettin Duran and presidential chief adviser Akif Çağatay Kılıç.
According to Pakistan’s Foreign Office, Prime Minister Shehbaz was scheduled to hold discussions covering the full spectrum of bilateral relations, with particular emphasis on expanding trade and investment cooperation between the two brotherly nations.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi had earlier said the leaders would also exchange views on regional peace and security.
Türkiye one of Pakistan’s closest allies
Addressing the Pakistan-Türkiye Business-to-Business (B2B) Conference in Istanbul, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described Türkiye as one of Pakistan’s strongest and most reliable allies.
He said the historic relationship between the two countries dated back to Türkiye’s War of Independence, when Muslims of the Indian subcontinent supported the Turkish people.
“Little did our forefathers know that a time would come when our brothers and sisters in Türkiye would pay back far beyond our own imaginations in terms of compassion, friendship and support,” the prime minister said.
“Be it war, earthquakes or floods, Türkiye has been Pakistan’s staunchest ally throughout the period,” he added.
Prime Minister Shehbaz said the exceptional relationship between the two countries now needed to be translated into tangible economic achievements.
He recalled Pakistan’s recent mediation between the United States and Iran, describing it as an extremely difficult mission that would not have been possible without the sincere support of Türkiye and other friendly countries.
The premier said the peace process presented tremendous opportunities not only for Pakistan and Türkiye but for the wider region.
Praising President Erdoğan’s leadership, Shehbaz said Türkiye had achieved remarkable progress in industry over the past two decades.
“Today, your automobile industry is at par with your textile, livestock and agriculture sectors, and this has been a kind of mini-miracle under President Tayyip Erdoğan’s leadership,” he remarked.
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz attended the conference, while Pakistan was represented by Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, Power Minister Awais Leghari and IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, among others.
The conference highlighted Pakistan’s investment potential in Special Economic Zones, energy, trade, information technology and privatisation.
PM invites greater Turkish investment
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Shehbaz met senior executives of Türkiye’s leading business groups and industry organisations in Istanbul, inviting them to expand investments in Pakistan.
He identified energy, mining and minerals, infrastructure, maritime and logistics, information technology, telecommunications, manufacturing, agriculture and privatisation as priority sectors.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the premier reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening economic cooperation and attracting increased Turkish investment.
He also underlined Pakistan’s improving macroeconomic indicators and investor-friendly policies, assuring Turkish businesses of a transparent, predictable and business-friendly investment environment.
The prime minister said the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) continued to provide one-window facilitation and institutional support to strategic investors in coordination with federal and provincial authorities.
During a meeting with Çalık Holding chairman Ahmet Çalık, Prime Minister Shehbaz highlighted investment opportunities in Pakistan’s energy, infrastructure, IT and privatisation sectors, welcoming the company’s interest in expanding its presence.
He also invited the Albayrak Group to increase investments in maritime infrastructure, port modernisation and logistics, acknowledging its contribution to Pakistan’s infrastructure development.
Meeting representatives of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB), the prime minister appreciated the organisation’s role in strengthening business-to-business engagement between the two countries.
He proposed establishing a structured institutional mechanism for regular interaction between the private sectors of Pakistan and Türkiye and invited TOBB to lead a high-level business delegation to Pakistan to explore investment opportunities.
According to the PMO, Turkish business leaders expressed confidence in Pakistan’s economic outlook and reaffirmed their interest in expanding investments and developing long-term partnerships across strategic sectors.
Turkcell invited to explore Pakistan’s digital sector
In a separate meeting with Turkcell Chief Executive Officer Ali Taha Koç, Prime Minister Shehbaz shared his government’s vision of establishing a Pakistan–Türkiye Digital Corridor to enhance regional digital connectivity, facilitate secure cross-border data flows and integrate digital infrastructure.
He invited Turkcell to explore long-term collaboration with Pakistani institutions in areas including 5G deployment, network optimisation, spectrum management, digital infrastructure and technology transfer.
The prime minister also encouraged the company to consider partnerships in local manufacturing of telecommunications equipment, software development, digital skills training and capacity building.
He said such cooperation would strengthen Pakistan’s technology ecosystem while creating opportunities for innovation, employment and sustainable economic growth.
Reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to a transparent and investment-friendly environment supported by the SIFC, Prime Minister Shehbaz emphasised the government’s support for strategic investments in information and communication technologies.
Turkcell CEO Ali Taha Koç appreciated Pakistan’s digital transformation agenda and expressed the company’s strong interest in exploring collaboration in telecommunications, digital infrastructure and emerging technologies.
He also reaffirmed Turkcell’s commitment to working closely with Pakistani stakeholders to develop mutually beneficial partnerships supporting the economic and technological aspirations of both countries.
Prime Minister Shehbaz arrived in Istanbul on Friday at President Erdoğan’s invitation after attending the funeral of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran.
Last week, Pakistan and Türkiye signed three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) aimed at strengthening institutional collaboration, technical cooperation and knowledge sharing in the power sector during high-level consultations held in Istanbul.