Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday declared that Türkiye’s success was Pakistan’s success, reaffirming Islamabad’s resolve to further deepen its “unique partnership” with Ankara as he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to expand cooperation in trade, investment, energy, defence and regional peace while reiterating their commitment to raising bilateral trade to $5 billion.
The meeting took place at one of Istanbul’s most historic venues. Daily Pakistan confirmed the announcement came after high-level talks between President Erdoğan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at Istanbul’s Vahdettin Palace, where both leaders reviewed bilateral relations, regional developments, and avenues for expanding economic and strategic cooperation.
What Both Leaders Said at the Joint Press Conference
Addressing a joint press conference with President Erdogan at the Vahdettin Palace, Prime Minister Shehbaz described Pakistan and Türkiye as “two hearts of one soul,” saying their enduring friendship was rooted in centuries of shared history, common faith, mutual sacrifice and an unbreakable bond of brotherhood.
Erdogan matched the warmth — and added substance. “We have reaffirmed our target of increasing our trade volume to the previously settled level of $5 billion,” President Erdogan said, as confirmed by Geo TV. He added that the relevant ministries of both countries were working on the planned special economic zone for businesspeople in Karachi, while negotiations were continuing to expand the financial trade agreement.
PM Shehbaz hailed Türkiye’s support during the May 2025 war with India. “Pakistan and Turkiye have stood by each other in every difficulty — be it war, earthquake or flood,” he said.
The Turkcell Connection: A Digital Corridor Between Two Countries
The business meetings produced something concrete beyond trade targets.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif met with a delegation of Turkcell led by its Chief Executive Officer Ali Taha Koç in Istanbul on July 4, 2026. He encouraged the company to explore partnerships in telecommunications equipment manufacturing, software development, digital skills training and capacity building, saying such collaboration would strengthen Pakistan’s technology ecosystem while creating new opportunities for innovation, employment and sustainable economic growth. He shared the government’s vision of establishing a Pakistan-Türkiye Digital Corridor to strengthen regional digital connectivity, facilitate secure cross-border data flows, and advance the integration of digital infrastructure.
Pakistan has a young, tech-hungry population that Turkcell — one of Türkiye’s largest telecoms — could serve. PM Shehbaz said: “We are a country of 240 million people and out of this, 60% of our population falls in the age category of 15 to 30 years. This young population is a challenge, but it also presents a great opportunity to transform this asset of Pakistan into unimaginable economic gains.”
Erdogan on the Islamabad MOU: “The Entire World Had a Sigh of Relief”
The Istanbul meeting was not only about bilateral trade. Regional peace featured prominently.
The Turkish president praised Pakistan’s peace efforts, saying they had contributed to ending the US-Iran war and led to the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding. “The entire world has had a sigh of relief thanks to the calm achieved through the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding,” he said, while congratulating PM Shehbaz for playing “a major role” in the mediation process, as Aaj TV confirmed.
The Turkish president said that Middle East peace efforts could not succeed without regional backing and that Israel must not be allowed to “dynamite” the US-Iran peace deal. Speaking alongside Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Erdogan said: “No solution that does not take strength from the will and contributions of regional countries can be lasting.”
What the $5 Billion Target Actually Means
Current bilateral trade between Pakistan and Turkiye sits around $800 million to $1 billion annually. Reaching $5 billion would represent a fivefold increase — ambitious but not unprecedented given that both countries have deep complementary economies.
Erdoğan stressed that cooperation in the fields of the defence industry, energy, transport, critical minerals, and information technologies will be further expanded through new projects. Express Tribune’s confirmed report noted PM Shehbaz on Saturday reaffirmed the government’s commitment to maintaining a transparent, predictable and investment-friendly business environment, supported by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), to facilitate strategic investments in high-value sectors, particularly information and communication technologies.
Pakistan’s textile industry — already exporting to Turkiye — and Türkiye’s construction and infrastructure sector — which has extensive experience in projects similar to what Pakistan needs — are the most obvious areas for growth. The planned Special Economic Zone in Karachi for Turkish businesses could anchor that expansion. Express Tribune’s additional reporting confirmed PM Shehbaz invited Turkish firms directly to expand investment in Pakistan across sectors.
The two sides agreed to fully leverage the immense potential of their partnership to achieve the $5 billion bilateral trade target and take the “enduring bonds of brotherhood” between the two countries to greater heights.
