Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently visited Pakistan after a five-year hiatus, for a two-day trip marking the 7th round of the Pakistan-Turkey High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council. His arrival was met with a grand reception, including a guard of honour at the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad, a 21-gun salute, and a fly-past by F16 fighter jets. The two nations, which have significantly strengthened ties in recent years, particularly in the area of military cooperation, committed to further enhancing their “brotherly relations", as expressed by Prime Minister Sharif.

The visit culminated in the signing of 24 documents and several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) between the two parties, highlighting collaboration across various sectors, including trade, tourism, defence, intelligence, mining, education, agriculture, and science and technology, among others. The goal of increasing the annual trade volume to $5 billion, up from the current approximate figure of $1.5 billion, was reaffirmed, alongside plans for Turkish firms to establish a special economic zone in Pakistan. It is worth noting that in 2023, Pakistan and Turkey concluded a Preferential Trade Agreement, under which Pakistan eliminated tariffs on 130 products, while Turkey reduced tariffs on 261 items.

However, the most significant aspect of the relationship between the two nations is their growing defence and diplomatic collaboration. Since Erdogan’s rise to prominence in Turkish........

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