Pakistan and Turkiye on Wednesday (July 9, 2025) agreed to enhance their cooperation in a spread of sectors, together with defence, commerce, vitality and infrastructure, aiming to improve bilateral commerce quantity to $5 billion.
This was agreed throughout talks between Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Defence Minister Yasar Guler with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad.
“Pakistan would like to benefit from Turkiye’s expertise and experiences in this (defence) field,” Mr. Dar stated, including that each nations will additional strengthen their cooperation to promote peace and stability in your complete area.
“We are actively engaged in different activities, including capacity building and counterterrorism,” Mr. Dar stated, describing Turkiye as a “trusted friend” and a “reliable brother”.
The Turkish Foreign Minister known as cooperation within the area of defence trade a “strategic step” and stated it will likely be additional strengthened within the coming days.
He stated that each nations will proceed to assist one another in countering terrorism.
“We are pursuing the establishment of a Special Economic Zone dedicated to Turkish entrepreneurs at Karachi,” Mr. Dar said while addressing a joint press conference alongside Mr. 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.”
Mr. Dar said Pakistan has 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.
Mr. 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, Mr. Fidan was “appreciative of Pakistan’s wisdom-oriented attitude”, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
The Turkish delegation also called on Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu at the Air Headquarters here.
According to a statement by the army, the meeting encompassed discussions on evolving regional security dynamics, progress of ongoing defence cooperation and prospects for future collaboration in emerging domains of warfare.
“Highlighting the long-standing fraternal ties between Turkiye and Pakistan, Guler conveyed Turkiye’s earnest desire to bolster bilateral defence relations through deeper industry-to-industry collaboration,” the army said.
He lauded the air force’s “distinctive efficiency” under the “insightful management” of the Air Chief in the recent conflict with India, it added.
Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met on the sidelines of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) summit in Khankendi, Azerbaijan.
