ANKARA: Turkiye’s foreign and defence ministers will visit Pakistan on Wednesday for talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss bilateral ties, regional issues, and defence industry cooperation, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Tuesday.
Turkiye has strong ties with Pakistan and expressed with it during its military conflict with India in May, angering India.
During the visit, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will express Turkiye’s desire to deepen ties in every field and offer Ankara’s support in taking steps toward regional peace, the source said.
Fidan will stress the countries “need to strengthen their cooperation in the defence industry,” the source said.
Ankara also has cordial ties with India, but after its support for Pakistan, small Indian grocery shops and major online fashion retailers boycotted Turkish products, while New Delhi also cancelled Turkiye-based aviation service provider Celebi clearance over “national security” reasons.
However, Celebi launched a legal challenge to New Delhi’s decision to overturn its security clearance, arguing that “vague” national security concerns were cited without reasoning.
Read more: Turkiye’s Celebi sues India over security clearance pullback
In May, Shehbaz had visited Turkiye as part of the four-nation tour that also took him to Iran, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan.
The visit was part of Islamabad’s efforts to garner international support in the wake of Indian aggression which includes suspending the Indus Waters Treaty.
During the meeting, Shehbaz Sharif and President Tayyip Erdogan discussed a wide range of issues – from bilateral relations to regional and world developments.
Last week, the two leaders met again on the sidelines of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit in Azerbaijan.