TURKISH President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit last week will have a lasting constructive impact on Pakistan and Turkiye’s bilateral relations. While meeting the Pakistani ruling elite, he contemplated various political, economic and security subjects. Both sides are eager to broaden bilateral trade and cooperation in combating terrorism and improving defence cooperation. Besides, they reiterated their stance on the right of self-determination of the Palestinian people and rejected President Trump’s impractical proposal about the displacement of the Palestinians from Gaza, a clear demonstration of their unity on the Palestinian issue.
Since 1947, Pakistan and Turkiye have been engaged in constructive bilateralism. Both nations’ relations are grounded on mutual trust, cultural bonds and shared faith. Consequently, at the people-to-people level, Pakistanis enjoy the gracious attitude of ordinary Turks towards Pakistanis. They are often termed Kardeş (brothers).Currently; Ankara and Islamabad are closely cooperating for diplomatic to economic terms and defence-to-security pacts. Besides, they support each other on regional and global forums, a testament to the strength of their relations in the global arena. For instance, Turkiye supports Pakistan’s stance on Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and combating the menace of terrorism. On June 1, 2022, President Erdoğan said: “We continue to support the efforts put forward to resolve the Kashmir issue … in line with the legitimate expectations of our Kashmiri brothers and within the framework of the UN resolutions.” Correspondingly, Islamabad supports Ankara’s Cypris dispute and its fight against terrorism.
Pakistan hosted the seventh session of the Pakistan-Turkiye High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council on February 13, 2025. The council aims to enhance bilateral trade, investment, banking, finance, culture, tourism, energy, defence and agriculture. President Erdoğan and Prime Minister Sharif co-chaired the council and expressed optimism to achieve a $5 billion trade volume between Turkiye and Pakistan. President Erdoğan said, “Turkish investors will be encouraged to engage more in Pakistan and develop flagship projects.” Subsequently, Pakistan and Turkiye signed 24 agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to boost the trade and economic ties in the fields of trade, water resources, agriculture, energy, culture, family and social services, along with science, banking, education, defence and health.
Pakistan and Turkiye have developed impressive defence cooperation, which has become a key pillar of Pakistan-Turkiye relations. According to the 2023 Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report, Turkiye is Pakistan’s second-largest arms supplier, accounting for 11pc of its total arms imports. On February 13, 2025, President Erdoğan said, “Our military dialogue and cooperation in the defence industry have grown our trade and investment relations exponentially.” Turkiye has assisted the Pakistan Navy’s advancement, aircraft modernization and drone acquisitions. In July 2018, the Pakistan Navy signed a contract to acquire four MILGEM-class ships with Turkiye’s state-run defence firm ASFAT. According to the plan, two corvettes (small warships) were built in Turkiye and the other two were built in Pakistan, which also involved technology transfer. The MILGEM-Class Corvettes is a state-of-the-art surface platform equipped with modern surface, subsurface and anti-air weapons, sensors and a combat management system.
President Erdoğan introduced the Turkish home-grown electric vehicle Togg in the Pakistani market during his two-day visit to Islamabad. This move not only showcases Turkey’s technological advancements but also signifies a new era of economic cooperation between the two nations. He gifted Togg to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari, symbolizing the potential for mutual benefit in such partnerships. With the support of the Turkish government, the Union of Chambers and the Stock Exchange of Turkey, five Turkish companies launched the project of the electric vehicle Togg as a joint venture in 2018 and the first model-T10Xproduction started in 2022. The car meets Euro NCAP’s 5-star safety rating. Since the beginning, Islamabad and Ankara have converged over the Palestinian’s right to self-determination and the creation of a two-state, i.e., an independent and sovereign state of Palestine with pre-1967 borders and Al Quds Al Sharif as its capital. During the 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas-Palestinian, Pakistan and Turkiye voiced unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people and continuously condemned the genocide of the Palestinians at all the forums.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas germinated optimism about the dawning of peace in the region. However, the hopes have vanished with President Trump’s announcement to resettle 2.2 million Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt, Jordan and other countries and the United States would take control and ownership of the coastal territory, redeveloping it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” Neither Turkiye nor Pakistan endorses President Trump’s immoral and impractical proposal. President Erdoğan’s recent visit affirms that despite the rapid transformation in global geopolitics, relations between Pakistan and Turkiye are progressing positively. They support each other politically and diplomatically at the regional and international forums and assist each other in combating the menace of terrorism.
—The writer is Prof at the School of Politics and IR, Quaid-i-Azam University.
(jaspal_99@hotmail.com)
