CDF Munir, Turkish President Erdogan discuss 'regional security, defence ties'

• Turkish president receives CDF Munir at Ankara airport.
• CDF Munir, Turkish president discuss Mideast situation.
• CDF Munir meets Turkish armed forces chief in Ankara.
  

Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Tuesday to discuss regional security and enhance defence cooperation between the two nations, Turkish media reported.

During the meeting, CDF Munir and the Turkish president also exchanged views on the latest developments in the Middle East, according to the reports.

The discussion also focused on expanding strategic cooperation between the two nations, the reports said.

Field Marshal Munir, who arrived in Turkiye on Monday, met President Erdogan at the Ankara airport, according to a post shared on the Turkish presidency's X account.

Later, the army chief met Turkiye's Chief of General Staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu in the capital after being presented with a guard of honour by a tri-services contingent of the Turkish Armed Forces.

The Turkish embassy in Islamabad shared a video on its X account, showing Field Marshal Munir arriving to meet General Bayraktaroglu.

"Rooted in brotherhood, mutual trust and a shared strategic vision, the enduring defence and military cooperation between Turkiye and Pakistan continues to grow stronger," it wrote in the post.

Islamabad and Ankara share longstanding brotherly relations, underpinned by strong strategic, political, defence and economic cooperation.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met President Erdogan in Istanbul, where the two leaders reaffirmed longstanding brotherly ties between the two nations.

They also pledged to expand economic cooperation, with a target of increasing bilateral trade to $5 billion.

Ankara is also building corvette warships for the Pakistan Navy under the decades-long defence ties between the two nations.

Turkiye has also upgraded numerous F-16 fighter jets of the Pakistan Air Force, and also shares its drone technology with Islamabad.

In January, Minister for Defence Production Raza Hayat Harraj said that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye had prepared a draft defence agreement after nearly a year of talks.

In an interview with Reuters on January 15, the minister said that the potential deal between the three regional powers was separate from a bilateral Saudi-Pakistani accord announced last year.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan later said that talks have been held on a possible defence pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, but no agreement has been signed.

Responding at a press conference in Istanbul to a question about whether there might be such an alliance, Fidan pointed to what he said was a need for broader regional cooperation and trust, and added that regional issues could be resolved if relevant countries would "be sure of each other".