PM Shehbaz, Turkiye's Erdogan address joint press conference in Istanbul

AI Summary

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a joint press conference with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul during an official visit focused on strengthening bilateral trade and investment. The leaders also discussed regional peace and security, highlighting Turkey's role as one of Pakistan's staunchest allies and its support in mediation efforts between the US and Iran.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are currently addressing a joint press conference in Istanbul. PM Shehbaz is on an official visit to Turkiye focused on cooperation in trade and investment. The two leaders were addressing the media after a bilateral meeting. “In our talks today, we exchanged views on global and regional issues with a particular focus on our bilateral relations,” President Erdogan said. At the outset of his remarks, Erdogan expressed his condolences on Friday’s accident near the Balochistan-KP border, which claimed the lives of 40 people. Erdogan received PM Shehbaz at Vahdettin Palace, where an official welcome ceremony was held. The two leaders then proceeded to a bilateral meeting. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, National Intelligence Organisation head Ibrahim Kalin, the presidency’s Communications Director Burhanettin Duran, and the president’s chief adviser Akif Cagatay Kilic attended the closed-door meeting. Turkiye-based Anadolu Agency also shared visuals of Erdogan welcoming PM Shehbaz. The meeting was expected to be followed by delegation-level talks. According to the Foreign Office, PM Shehbaz was set to “hold discussions on the entire gamut of bilateral relations with a special focus on giving impetus to bilateral trade and investment cooperation between the two brotherly countries”. “The leadership meeting will also reflect on issues concerning regional peace and security,” FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said on Thursday. ‘Turkiye one of Pakistan’s staunchest allies’ PM Shehbaz also addressed a Pakistan-Turkiye business-to-business (B2B) conference in Istanbul. At the outset of his address, the premier called Turkiye “one of Pakistan’s staunchest allies around the globe”. He noted that the “fraternal bond between our two countries” dated back to Turkiye’s War of Independence, when Muslims of the subcontinent supported Turkiye’s efforts for independence. PM Shehbaz said: “Little did our forefathers know that a time would come when our brothers and sisters in Turkiye would pay back far beyond our own imaginations in terms of compassion, friendship, support. “Be it war, earthquakes, floods, Turkiye has been Pakistan’s staunchest ally throughout the period.” The prime minister noted that the strength of the Pak-Turkiye relationship “demands very strongly that these beautiful words from both sides must now be converted into something concrete”, referring to the speeches given by the two countries’ ministers. “I think this is high time when Pakistan, with the great support of my very dear brother President Tayyip Erdogan, has been able to mediate peace between the United States and Iran,” he recalled. PM Shehbaz described the mediation efforts saying, “It wasn’t an easy task; a very uphill task.” He added that “this mission would have been well-nigh impossible” without the “very sincere support” of Turkiye and other brotherly countries. The prime minister called for finding “tremendous potential in this peace process not only for our bilateral benefits, but for the entire region”. Commending Erdogan’s “dynamic leadership”, he noted that Turkiye had made “tremendous strides in the field of industry”. “Today, your automobile industry is at par with your textile, livestock, agriculture, and this has been a kind of a mini-miracle in the last 20 years under President Tayyip Erdogan’s leadership.” Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz attended the moot. Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, Power Minister Awais Leghari and IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja were among those from the Pakistani side who also addressed the conference. The B2B conference was to “spotlight Pakistan’s trade and investment potential in priority areas, including SEZs (special economic zones), energy, trade, IT and privatisation sectors”, the FO spokesperson had said. PM invites Turkish companies to expand investments in Pakistan As he began the day, PM Shehbaz held a series of meetings with senior executives of Turkiye’s leading business groups and industry organisations in Istanbul. He invited Turkish companies to expand their investments in several sectors in Pakistan, including energy, mining and minerals, infrastructure, maritime and logistics, information technology, telecommunications, manufacturing, agriculture and privatisation, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The statement said PM Shehbaz reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to “strengthening economic cooperation and attracting greater Turkish investment across key sectors of the economy”. He also underscored the deep-rooted brotherly ties between Pakistan and Turkiye and emphasised the importance of translating the two countries’ exceptional relationship into a stronger economic and investment partnership, it added. PM Shehbaz also discussed Pakistan’s improving macroeconomic fundamentals and investor-friendly policy framework, adding that the