TURKISH President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was given a red carpet reception upon his arrival at Islamabad on 12 February 2025. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif received the distinguished guest at Noor Khan Airport. It was an unprecedented welcome which indicates the nature of this deep-rooted relationship between Pakistan and Turkey. The Turkish President is accompanied by a high-level delegation. The Turkish President has visited Pakistan at a time when the Middle East is passing through a phase of new turmoil and instability.
During his visit, leadership of both brotherly states deliberated upon the challenging situation of the Middle East and remained steadfast towards Palestinian issue. Pakistan and Turkiye are committed to establishing an independent state for the people of Palestine as per United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181, passed on November 29, 1947. The Israeli genocide of the Gaza people was condemned and rejected any plan for the displacement of the people of Gaza from their homeland. There has been a positive development that both Jordan and Egypt have rejected Trump’s plan for eviction of Palestinians (Gaza people) from their motherland.
On February 13, 2025, President Erdoğan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif jointly co-chaired the 7th Session of the Pakistan-Turkiye High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC). It is the highest level decision-making forum between Pakistan and Turkiye which provides strategic direction to further strengthening the bilateral relations between the two countries. The HLSCC “operates through multiple Joint Standing Committees (JSCs) covering trade, investment, banking, finance, defence, energy, agriculture, IT, health and education”. At the bilateral level, Pakistan and Turkiye, have decided to boost bilateral trade between and cooperation at multiple level.
On this occasion, many new memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed between Pakistan and Turkiye primarily to expand economic cooperation, particularly in trade and investment. Both states planned to enhance the cur-rent volume of bilateral trade from $1Billion to $5 Billion. The salient features of the new MoUs include: trade liberalisation, investment facilitation and the removal of non-tariff barriers. During this visit both countries have also decided to expand their Strategic Economic Framework (SEF), including digital, trade liberalisation and tariff concessions under the Trade in Goods Agreement (TGA).
There has been close cooperation between Pakistan and Turkiye in the field of defence and security. It has been a key area in the past and both states reiterated to further cooperate in the field of defence and security. There are joint de-fence projects going on between both militaries since the past many decades. These include cooperation at all levels: Naval, Air and Army, regularly conducting joint military exercises. Joint projects also include: MILGEM warships, aircraft modernisation and drone acquisitions and deepening military collaboration. Pakistan and Turkiye have had a very strong and historical relationship even before Pakistan came into being. This relationship continued enhancing with each passing day. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has further cemented this relationship during his tenure as the Head of State and Head of Government. He was elected for the third time in Turkiye’s presidential elections in May 2023. His victory was very well received by the Pakistani masses and government. He is a great and bold leader of the Muslim Ummah.
It is worth mentioning that Pakistani masses and leadership were especially concerned over the failed coup attempt made by the betrayed men of Turkish armed forces against the Government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2015. The Turkish President has always shown his concern over the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). He once said,“Our brothers and sisters in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir are suffering because of escalating tensions along the Line of Control (LoC), which can no longer be ignored.” Turkiye always supported the Pakistani stance on the Kashmir dispute. The issue needs to be settled as per the wishes of the people of Kashmir under UN resolutions.
In 2016, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed the Joint Session of the Pakistani Parliament and emphasized on many aspects of cooperation. His address was focussed on key issues like educational, terrorism and promotion of peace and prosperity. For the promotion of higher education in Pakistan, the Turkish President even announced 500 PhD scholarships for the Pakistani students. This was the highest number of scholarships Pakistan has ever received. He also declared terrorism as the common enemy for both Turkiye and Pakistan. He stressed for adoption of Islamic values and teachings which aims at benefitting the entire human beings, irrespective of religion, caste, creed or area. Following the teachings of Islam is the best way forward for the promotion of peace and harmony at the level of state, region and globe.
Indeed, “Pakistan and Turkiye are bound by historic fraternal ties” and this visit of President Erdoğan has further deepened the brotherly relations and enhanced multifaceted cooperation between Pakistan and Turkiye. The visit of President Erdoğan had three salient features; (a) promotion of bilateral trade and commerce between Pakistan and Turkey, (b) promotion of broader and larger unity for the resolution of key issues like Palestine and Jammu and Kashmir and (c) promotion of international peace and cooperation.
The writer is a Professor of Politics and IR at the International Islamic University, Islamabad.
(drmkedu@gmail.com)
