ISTANBUL, Turkiye: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday reaffirmed their commitment to increase the volume of bilateral trade to $5 billion, as the two countries pledged to deepen cooperation in trade, investment, defence and regional diplomacy during talks in Istanbul.
The resolve was expressed during a joint press conference by PM Sharif and President Erdogan in Istanbul. Prime Minister Sharif is on an official visit to Turkiye. The two leaders had held a bilateral meeting prior to their press briefing.
“In our talks today, we exchanged views on global and regional issues with a particular focus on our bilateral relations,” President Erdogan said.
Affirming that Turkiye’s solidarity with Pakistan “continues in every field”, the president said the two sides discussed the “steps we can take to further enhance our trade and investment relations in a manner befitting the spirit of solidarity”.
“We have reaffirmed our target of increasing our trade volume to the previously set level of $5 billion,” Erdogan added.
براہِ راست:ترکیہ کے صدر اور وزیراعظم پاکستان کی مشترکہ میڈیا سے گفتگو https://t.co/DLgdbOdXmA
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) July 4, 2026
PM Sharif says Pakistan, Turkiye share deep and enduring bond
Prime Minister Sharif, meanwhile, thanked President Erdogan for the warm welcome and hospitality, reiterating that Pakistan and Turkiye shared a deep and enduring bond.
PM Sharif noted that Turkiye has consistently stood by Pakistan in times of war and natural disasters.
PM Sharif has expressed his deep appreciation for “Turkiye’s strong and steadfast support for Pakistan’s peace efforts in the region that … have culminated in the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding”.
The prime minister highlighted his meetings with Turkish business leaders at the Business Forum, saying Pakistan and Turkiye were committed to achieving the $5 billion bilateral trade target.
President Erdogan said that both countries’ trade ministries were working on establishing a special economic zone (SEZ) planned for “our business people in Karachi”.
“Similarly, negotiations are ongoing on expanding the scope of our preferential trade agreement,” Erdogan said, expressing confidence that the B2B conference would contribute to Pakistan-Turkiye investment ties.
“We, too, encourage our investors to engage in more activities in Pakistan,” he added.
The Turkish President said that the bilateral cooperation in the defence industry was “one of the cornerstones of our economic relations and it continues to grow stronger with new projects each passing day”.
“We are implementing these projects step by step, and I am confident and I believe that they will further strengthen Pakistan,” Erdogan said
Erdogan expressed Turkiye’s desire to deepen cooperation with Pakistan in the fields of energy, transportation, critical minerals, and information technologies.
“I hope that today’s meeting and the decisions we have reached will lead to beneficial outcomes,” the Turkish President concluded.
PM Sharif hails time-tested Pakistan-Turkiye ties
Prime Minister Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to further strengthen its time-tested strategic partnership with Turkiye.
Shehbaz Sharif said Turkiye has always stood by Pakistan during difficult times, including wars, earthquakes, and devastating floods.
The Prime Minister praised President Erdogan’s visionary leadership, saying Turkiye has achieved remarkable economic, technological, and strategic progress under his stewardship.
Referring to bilateral cooperation, Shehbaz Sharif said both sides held comprehensive and productive discussions on trade, investment, and industrial collaboration, reaffirming their commitment to achieving the bilateral trade target of five billion dollars.
Highlighting regional peace efforts, Shehbaz Sharif said the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding reflects the shared belief that dialogue, diplomacy, and mutual respect remain the only sustainable path to resolving disputes and ensuring lasting peace and stability in the region.
The Prime Minister also expressed Pakistan’s support for Turkiye on the issue of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and thanked Ankara for its consistent support for the people of Jammu and Kashmir and their right to self-determination.
Erdogan lauds Pakistan’s mediation role
At the outset of his address, Erdogan mentioned Islamabad’s role in mediation between the United States and Iran, which culminated in the Islamabad memorandum of understanding last month to end the war.
He said the “entire world has had a sigh of relief thanks to the calm achieved through” the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, which was signed on June 18 to end the US-Iran war.
“Recent reports in the international media have highlighted challenges involved in the negotiation process,” he noted.
The Turkish President congratulated PM Sharif and the Pakistani “brothers and sisters whose invaluable efforts played a major role in achieving this outcome”.
“We too have supported and continue to support every step that will help to reduce tensions in our region and resolve issues through diplomatic means,” he affirmed.
Erdogan said Ankara was “closely monitoring the Israeli administration’s provocations aimed at sabotaging the agreement” between the US and Iran.
“The Zionist massacre team responsible has cited political survival to the continuation of conflicts in the region, and the Israeli occupying forces are also continuing their inhumane attacks on the people of Gaza,” he highlighted.
“Turkiye seeks the establishment of an environment in which all the peoples of the region, regardless of their faith, can live in peace and security,” he stated.
Erdogan emphasised: “No solution that does not derive strength from the contributions of countries in the region can possibly be lasting.”
He affirmed that Ankara would continue working with “brotherly countries, foremost among them Pakistan, to strengthen peace, stability and prosperity in our region”.
President Erdogan had received PM Sharif at Vahdettin Palace, where an official welcome ceremony was held. The two leaders then proceeded to a bilateral meeting.
🛑LIVE: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan receives Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Istanbulhttps://t.co/CLueXSuXp7
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) July 4, 2026
PM Sharif says ‘Turkiye one of Pakistan’s staunchest allies’
Earlier, PM Sharif addressed a Pakistan-Turkiye business-to-business (B2B) conference in Istanbul.
At the outset of his address, the premier called Turkiye “one of Pakistan’s staunchest allies around the globe”.
He noted that the “fraternal bond between our two countries” dated back to Turkiye’s War of Independence, when Muslims of the subcontinent supported Turkiye’s efforts for independence.
PM Sharif said: “Little did our forefathers know that a time would come when our brothers and sisters in Turkiye would pay back far beyond our own imaginations in terms of compassion, friendship, and support.
“Be it war, earthquakes, floods, Turkiye has been Pakistan’s staunchest ally throughout the period.”
The prime minister noted that the strength of the Pak-Turkiye relationship “demands very strongly that these beautiful words from both sides must now be converted into something concrete”, referring to the speeches given by the two countries’ ministers.
“I think this is high time when Pakistan, with the great support of my very dear brother President Tayyip Erdogan, has been able to mediate peace between the United States and Iran,” he recalled.
PM Sharif described the mediation efforts, saying, “It wasn’t an easy task; a very uphill task.”
He added that “this mission would have been well-nigh impossible” without the “very sincere support” of Turkiye and other brotherly countries.
The prime minister called for finding “tremendous potential in this peace process not only for our bilateral benefits, but for the entire region”.
Commending Erdogan’s “dynamic leadership”, he noted that Turkiye had made “tremendous strides in the field of industry”.
“Today, your automobile industry is at par with your textile, livestock, agriculture, and this has been a kind of a mini-miracle in the last 20 years under President Tayyip Erdogan’s leadership.”
