ISLAMABAD – Pakistan is set to acquired advanced drone aircraft from Turkiye as they aim at enhancing defence cooperation.
Reports said the understanding was reaching during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Pakistan.
During the visit, President Erdogan also had a separate one-hour meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which was attended by Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir and Deputy Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
In this meeting, ways to enhance defense and trade cooperation were explored. It was decided that Pakistan should also benefit from Turkiye’s advancements in drone technology. Pakistan emphasized the need to be provided with drone aircraft.
The two leaders also had an in-depth exchange of views on various bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. They expressed satisfaction on the positive trajectory of Pakistan-Türkiye bilateral relations and reaffirmed their resolve to transform these relations into a mutually beneficial strategic partnership.
This was followed by the 7th Session of the Pakistan-Türkiye High Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC), co-chaired by both leaders. In the HLSCC, the respective Ministers of both sides presented the progress reports of the nine Joint Standing Committees covering various areas of cooperation. Two new Joint Standing Committees on Health and IT also presented their reports.
The prime minister emphasized upon the need to deepen bilateral economic cooperation between the two brotherly countries through result-oriented actions, enhanced business interactions, and facilitating bilateral investments.
He invited Turkish companies to take benefit of this immense potential offered by Pakistan’s economic, trade and investment landscape and explore mutually advantageous collaboration in the fields of agriculture, new and emerging technologies, energy, and mining, among others.
PM Shehbaz also thanked President Erdogan for his strong, consistent and principled stance on Jammu and Kashmir dispute, and reaffirmed Pakistan’s steadfast support to Turkiye on core issues of its national interest.
Both leaders also discussed recent developments in the Middle East during the course of which they expressed unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The prime minister reiterated Pakistan’s call for a two-state solution that envisages the creation of an independent and sovereign state of Palestine with pre-1967 borders and with Al Quds Al Sharif as its capital, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the UN and OIC. In addition to signing the Joint Declaration, the two leaders also witnessed exchange of 24 MoUs, Protocols and Agreements in diverse areas of bilateral cooperation.
