Türkiye is set to host an intense round of diplomatic engagements this week aimed at ending the conflict between Iran and the United States, with Pakistan’s prime minister announcing that he will visit the country during his regional tour.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif set off on a four-day diplomatic blitz to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Türkiye from April 15 to 18, his office said, in a feverish round of diplomacy before a possible second round of U.S.-Iran peace talks.
The visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar will be conducted in the bilateral context, while Sharif will participate in the Antalya Diplomacy Forum while in Türkiye.
He will also hold bilateral meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other leaders on the sidelines of the Antalya forum.
The diplomacy forum in the Mediterranean city will also host talks of foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt.
"This is the third meeting of the four countries to discuss regional affairs, not specifically Hormuz," a source said.
The statement came as Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a phone call on April 14 with Iranian top diplomat Abbas Araghchi, during which the latest developments in the negotiation process between Iranian and U.S. delegations were discussed.
Fidan also spoke by phone with his Pakistani counterpart, Muhammad Ishaq Dar, with the talks focusing on the ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations and the steps to be taken in the coming days.
Washington and Tehran held their first face-to-face talks in decades in Islamabad at the weekend, with efforts underway to end the war that began when the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.
The war has plunged the Middle East into conflict, with Iran targeting U.S. allies in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, in retaliation and blocking energy exports from the region.
The Islamabad talks ended without an agreement to end the conflict, but U.S. President Donald Trump said on on April 14 that negotiations could resume this week in the Pakistani capital.
A fragile ceasefire remains in place until next week, despite the United States ordering a naval blockade of Iran.
Sharif was accompanied by his Foreign Minister Dar, one of the mediators during the U.S.-Iran talks, and other senior officials on his visits.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia share close ties, and Islamabad's Finance Ministry announced on April 15 that Riyadh would provide Pakistan with $3 billion to help bolster its foreign reserves.
That support came days after Pakistan said it was returning billions in loans to Riyadh's ally-turned-rival the United Arab Emirates.
The Finance Ministry said an existing $5 billion Saudi deposit would also be extended for an unspecified period.
