Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday arrived in Istanbul on a two-day sanctioned visit at the assignation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
PM Shehbaz was entered by the Istanbul deputy governor and other elderly officers of the Turkish government upon arriving at the Istanbul field.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif arrives in Istanbul Turkiye for his two-day official visit. Dy Governor Istanbul, Turk Civil Military officials and diplomats of Pakistani Mission & Counsalate recieved Prime Minister upon his arrival at the Istanbul Airport. pic.twitter.com/9lYd1qqQXG
In a tweet shortly after the premier landed, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said Shehbaz was “determined to tap the enormous implicit” between the two countries.
She said that PM Shehbaz had worked lifelessly for “expansive commerce with Turkish authorities and implicit investors to develop a comprehensive roadmap for bilateral engagement”.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is determined to tap the enormous potential between Pakistan and Türkiye, tirelessly worked for extensive interaction with Turkish authorities and potential investors to develop a comprehensive roadmap for bilateral engagement. #PMShehbazinTurkey pic.twitter.com/1sZQzdxds8
According to a Foreign Office(FO) statement, the premier will “concertedly inaugurate the third of the four Milgem Corvette vessels for the Pakistan Navy, PNS Khaibar, at the Istanbul Shipyard”.
Previous to his departure, the premier said in a tweet that the induction of the third Milgem Corvette boat represented the heightening defence cooperation between the Turkiye and Pakistan.
Being in Turkey feels like being home, overwhelmed by the warmth of our Turkish brothers & sisters. Our bilateral ties have entered a new era of strategic partnership under the leadership of President Erdogan. We are on course to unpack the full untapped potential of relationship https://t.co/69HDrEvcsC
“High-position exchanges are a defining point of our cooperation,” he stated. “Our bilateral ties have entered a new period of strategic cooperation under the leadership of President Erdogan.”
The PM went on to say that the two countries were on a course to “unload the full untapped eventuality of relationship”, adding that high-position exchanges were a “defining point” of the cooperation between the two countries.
Trip’s docket
The FO said during the two-day visit, PM Shehbaz will also “interact with leaders of the Turkish business community” and also meet the President of the ECO Trade and Development Bank during his stay in the country’s civic centre, Istanbul.
Latterly, Shehbaz and Erdogan will hold wide-ranging conversations on “bilateral relations, the indigenous situation and other issues of common interest”, the FO said.
The FO added that the two countries “enjoy brotherly ties deeply bedded in similarities of faith, culture, and history and sustained by exceptional charity and collective trust”.
The Milgem design
The Milgem design — grounded on a common collaboration between Turkiye and Pakistan was inked with ASFAT inc, a Turkish state-possessed Defence contractor establishment in 2018, according to which the Pakistan cortege would acquire four Milgem- class vessels from Turkey.
Milgem vessels are 99 metres long, have a relegation capacity of,400 tons and have a speed of 29 navigational long hauls. These anti-submarine combat frigates, which can be hidden from the radar, would further enhance the defence capability of the Pakistan Navy.
According to the FO, the launching form for the first Corvette for the Pakistan Navy, PNS Babur, was performed in Istanbul in August 2021 while the groundbreaking for the alternate boat, PNS Badr, was held in Karachi in May 2022.
“The design represents a significant corner in the Pakistan- Turkiye strategic cooperation that continues to progress on an upward line,” it said.
