KARACHI – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish President Cevdet Yilmaz jointly launched on Wednesday the fourth MILGEM Class Corvette – PNS Tariq – at Karachi Shipyard.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and other officials from Pakistan and Turkiye.
The Turkish dignitary reached Pakistan on a two-day official visit Tuesday night and he was received by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and others at the Karachi airport.
Initiated in 2018, the MILGEM project envisages the construction of four Corvettes for Pakistan Navy including two in Pakistan and two in Turkiye.
The prime minister, earlier, attended the launching ceremony of the third Naval Corvette, PNS Khyber, in Istanbul, in November last year.
The first two Corvettes, PNS Babur and PNS Badar were launched in Istanbul and Karachi, in August 2021 and May 2022 respectively.
The MILGEM project represents an enduring symbol of Pakistan-Turkiye collaboration in the maritime domain. It is a tangible step towards self-reliance and indigenization and would fulfill the critical security needs of Pakistan Navy.
Pakistan and Turkiye enjoy deep-rooted fraternal ties, characterized by frequent exchanges at the leadership level, commonality of views on regional and global issues and strengthened cooperation in all areas of mutual interest.
