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Islamabad, Jul 9 (PTI) Pakistan and Turkiye on Wednesday agreed to boost their cooperation in a range of sectors, including defence, trade, energy and infrastructure, aiming to enhance bilateral trade volume to USD 5 billion.

This was agreed during talks between Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Defence Minister Yasar Guler with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar here.

“Pakistan would like to benefit from Turkiye's expertise and experiences in this (defence) field,” Dar said, adding that both countries will further strengthen their cooperation to promote peace and stability in the entire region.

“We are actively engaged in different activities, including capacity building and counterterrorism,” Dar said, describing Turkiye as a "trusted friend" and a "reliable brother".

The Turkish Foreign Minister called cooperation in the field of defence industry a "strategic step" and said it will be further strengthened in the coming days.

He said that both countries will continue to support each other in countering terrorism.

"We are pursuing the establishment of a Special Economic Zone dedicated to Turkish entrepreneurs at Karachi,” Dar said while addressing a joint press conference alongside Fidan.

He also mentioned other engagements, including the revival of the Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad train, saying, “Our delegations are meeting in the coming weeks to finalise the roadmap for revival.” Dar said Pakistan has already allocated land for the construction of Turkiye’s Maarif School in Muzaffarabad. “A Maarif Foundation delegation is visiting Muzaffarabad today and visiting the site for evaluation,” he said.

Fidan noted that both countries have expanded their relations in the fields of economy, energy, defence, industry, education and culture, adding that they are aiming to increase their commercial relations to USD 5 billion.

Referring to the recent Pakistan-India conflict, Fidan was “appreciative of Pakistan’s wisdom-oriented attitude”, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

The Turkish delegation also called on Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu at the Air Headquarters here.

According to a statement by the army, the meeting encompassed discussions on evolving regional security dynamics, progress of ongoing defence cooperation and prospects for future collaboration in emerging domains of warfare.

“Highlighting the long-standing fraternal ties between Turkiye and Pakistan, Guler conveyed Turkiye’s earnest desire to bolster bilateral defence relations through deeper industry-to-industry collaboration,” the army said.

He lauded the air force's "exceptional performance" under the "insightful leadership" of the Air Chief in the recent conflict with India, it added.

Meanwhile, during his talks with Fidan and Guler, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan was committed to transforming its ties with Turkiye into a “strategic partnership”.

The prime minister also invited Turkish companies to expand their investment footprint in Pakistan and to share their expertise in the country's structural reforms, economic growth and development and stressed the need for concerted efforts by both sides to enhance bilateral trade to attain the mutually agreed target of $5 billion.

Sharif expressed hope that the bilateral relations between the two countries would attain further momentum, leading to bolstering of cooperation in multifaceted areas.

Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Sharif met on the sidelines of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) summit in Khankendi, Azerbaijan. PTI SH GRS ZH SCY SCY