Erdoğan, Pakistani PM discuss bilateral relations, cooperation

ISTANBUL

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Sunday evening for a high-level meeting focused on deepening strategic cooperation between the two countries.

Erdoğan and Sharif met at the Dolmabahçe Working Office in Istanbul.

According to the Turkish Communications Directorate, bilateral relations between Türkiye and Pakistan, and regional and global issues were discussed during the meeting.

During the meeting, Erdoğan stated that they will continue working to improve Turkish-Pakistani relations and achieve the $5 billion trade volume target.

Noting that they will strive to improve cooperation between the two countries in all fields, especially in energy, transportation and defense, Erdoğan said it is in the interest of both countries to increase solidarity between Türkiye and Pakistan in the fields of training, intelligence sharing, and technological support in the fight against terrorism.

Emphasizing that the Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad train line should be made more efficient and that concrete steps to be taken in the field of education would contribute to the relations, Erdoğan said he appreciated Pakistan's principled stance on the Palestinian issue and that Türkiye is making efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza as soon as possible.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, Director of the National Intelligence Organization İbrahim Kalın, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, Presidential Advisor on Foreign Policy and Security Akif Çağatay Kılıç, and Commander of the Turkish Land Forces General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu accompanied Erdoğan at the reception.

After meeting with Erdoğan, Sharif stated in a post on X that the two leaders discussed the current status of their diverse bilateral cooperation, particularly in trade and investment.

He also expressed gratitude to Erdoğan for his "resolute support" of Pakistan during the recent conflict with India, highlighting that the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to continue working closely to strengthen the strong bonds between the two countries.