ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday left for Turkiye on a two-day official visit to attend the inauguration of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday.

In the second round of elections held on May 28, Erdogan got 52.14 percent of the votes, beating his challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who won 47.86 percent.

“Leaving for Türkiye today at the invitation of my brother, H.E. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to attend his inauguration ceremony. I will convey our warmest greetings to the President on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan on his re-election,” Prime Minister Shehbaz wrote on Twitter before flying to Ankara.

Leaving for Türkiye 🇹🇷 today at the invitation of my brother, H.E. President @RTErdogan, to attend his inauguration ceremony. I will convey our warmest greetings to the President on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan 🇵🇰 on his re-election. The fraternal ties between…

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) June 2, 2023

“We have yet to unlock the potential of our multifaceted relationship and efforts are being made in that direction,” the prime minister said.

During the visit, the prime minister will also interact with Turkish investors as well as businessmen.

At the airport, Turkish Ambassador in Islamabad Dr Mehmet Paçaci saw the prime minister off.

In his tweet, the prime minister said the ties between Pakistan and Türkiye were set to deepen further in line with their shared resolve and common destiny.

He said the upcoming 7th Meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council in Islamabad would provide the right avenue to take the momentum of the bilateral strategic partnership forward.