Daily Times

Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be arriving in Pakistan on February 12 (today) on a two-day official visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Foreign Office (FO) confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.

According to FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan, President Erdogan would be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including ministers and senior officials, as well as corporate leaders.

During the two-day visit – Feb 12-13 – PM Shehbaz and President Erdogan would co-chair the 7th Session of the Pakistan-Turkiye high-level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC), the spokesperson added.

“At the conclusion of the session, a joint declaration and a number of important agreements/MoUs are expected to be signed. The two leaders will also address a joint press stakeout,” read the statement.

It added that President Erdogan will also have bilateral meetings with PM Shehbaz and President Asif Ali Zardari.

Together with PM Shehbaz, the visiting dignitary will address the Pakistan-Turkiye Business and Investment Forum, bringing together leading investors, companies and business people from both sides.

It is pertinent to mention here that HLSCC is the highest-level decision-making forum, providing strategic direction to further strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries. There are a number of Joint Standing Committees(JSCs) under the HLSCC, covering sectors including; trade, investment, banking, finance, culture, tourism, energy, defence, agriculture, transport, communication, IT, health, science and technology and education.

So far, six sessions of the HLSCC have been held, the FO spokesperson said, adding that the last session was held in Islamabad on February 13-14, 2020. Pakistan and Turkiye are bound by historic, fraternal and long-standing ties. The spokesperson said that the visit of the Turkish president and the holding of the 7th Session of the HLSCC would serve to further deepen the brotherly relations and enhance multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.