ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday invited Turkish companies to invest in Pakistan’s key economic sectors, including energy, mining, infrastructure, maritime, telecommunications, information technology, agriculture and privatization, as Islamabad and Ankara seek to deepen their strategic economic partnership.
The invitation came during Sharif’s official visit to Türkiye at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, where the two sides are holding discussions on trade, investment and regional security.
Pakistan and Türkiye enjoy longstanding political, economic and defense ties. Both countries are also members of the R-4 diplomatic framework, established in March by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan to coordinate responses to regional challenges.
During his stay in Istanbul, the prime minister held separate meetings with leading Turkish business figures, including Çalık Holding Chairman Ahmet Çalık, Albayrak Group Chairman Ahmet Albayrak and Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB).
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Sharif encouraged Turkish investors to expand their presence in Pakistan’s priority sectors, particularly energy, mining and minerals, infrastructure, maritime and logistics, information technology, telecommunications, manufacturing, agriculture and the government’s privatization program.
In his meeting with Çalık Holding, the prime minister highlighted investment opportunities in Pakistan’s energy, infrastructure, IT and privatization sectors. During talks with Albayrak Group, he invited the company to increase its investment in maritime infrastructure, port modernization and logistics.
Sharif is also scheduled to address a Pakistan-hosted business conference in Istanbul, where he will present investment opportunities in Special Economic Zones (SEZs), as well as the energy, information technology and privatization sectors.
The visit comes as Pakistan and Türkiye continue to strengthen cooperation in the energy sector, including deep-sea oil and gas exploration, while Islamabad seeks foreign investment to address energy shortages, reduce fuel imports and develop its vast mineral resources.
Defense cooperation has also expanded significantly in recent years. Pakistan is acquiring four Turkish-designed MILGEM corvettes, with two vessels being constructed at Karachi Shipyard under Turkish collaboration. The two countries are also exploring cooperation on armed drones, avionics, propulsion technologies and surveillance systems.
Sharif last visited Türkiye in April as part of a broader Middle East diplomatic tour aimed at building regional support for a negotiated resolution to the Iran-Israel conflict.
