Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey, landed in Islamabad, Pakistan, shortly after Thursday midnight. The trip marks the final leg of his international tour, including stops in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Today, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Erdogan signed a number of agreements in different domains to strengthen bilateral relations. Pakistan and Turkey inked a total of 24 agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).
Defence cooperation remains an important pillar of bilateral relationships. Turkey is Pakistan’s second-largest arms supplier, accounting for 11% of its total arms imports, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute report.
Pakistan and Turkey to expand economic cooperation
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed his gratitude to PM Sharif for the hospitality, highlighting the crucial agreements signed in the fields of trade, agriculture, energy, culture, science, banking, education, defence and health.
Both leaders discussed the Pakistan-Turkey bilateral ties and also regional and global circumstances, in detail. PM Sharif thanked Turkey for standing by Pakistan “through thick and thin, during earthquakes and floods.”
During Erdogan’s trip, Pakistan and Turkey are expected to finalise agreements to expand economic cooperation. Officials are seeking to boost bilateral trade from $1 billion to $5 billion. Fresh agreements are expected in trade liberalisation.
