Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday expressed satisfaction at the positive trajectory of Pakistan-Turkiye bilateral relations, reaffirmed Pakistan’s strong commitment to further expanding cooperation with Türkiye, particularly in the energy sector.

The prime minister was talking to Turkish Minister of Energy & Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar, who called on him at the PM House in Islamabad.

The prime minister noted with satisfaction that Turkish Petroleum had joined offshore and onshore exploration activities in Pakistan, marking a major milestone in bilateral energy cooperation.

He also extended an invitation to Turkish companies to increase their investment footprint in Pakistan’s energy market.

While underscoring the historic and fraternal ties between Pakistan and Türkiye, the prime minister emphasised the importance of expanding collaboration between Pakistan and Türkiye in the energy, petroleum, and mineral sectors.

While fondly recalling his numerous interactions with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan this year, the prime minister underscored the need to ensure close coordination between the two sides in view of the fast-evolving regional and global environment.

It was agreed between the two sides that a ministerial delegation from Pakistan will visit Turkiye soon to explore further cooperation between the two countries, especially in the field of energy and power sector.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik, Minister for Power Sardar Awais Khan Leghari, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi, and senior government officials.

The two leaders also witnessed the exchange of memorandums of understanding and agreements between Turkiye and Pakistan in the field of mining, i.e, Deed of assignment -Eastern Offshore Indus-C, Petroleum Concession agreement Ziarat North Block, Petroleum Concession agreement Sukhpur-II Block, Petroleum Concession agreement Deep C block and Offshore Deep F Block.