Close relationship between Pakistan and Turkey

General Ilker Basbug, Deputy Chief of the Turkish General Staff and Lt. Gen. (R) Hamid Nawaz Khan, Secretary Defence co-chaired the opening session.

In his opening remarks, the Secretary Defence said that Pakistan and Turkey enjoy a very close and cordial relationship in political, economic, defence, and technical fields. Both countries share common perception and concerns on the regional and international issues. Dwelling upon the defence relations between Pakistan and Turkey, the Secretary maintained that outstanding relationship exists between the armed forces of the two countries that is reflective of the cordiality and warmth of our bilateral relations.

In connection with the build up of conventional and non-conventional capabilities by India, the Secretary said that acquisition of sophisticated and offensive military hardware by India from all parts of the world including Israel would destabilize South Asia and erode strategic deterrence.

The Secretary proposed choosing of specific items of defence equipment needed by the armed forces of both countries for joint production. He said that this will inculcate a spirit of cooperation and collaboration for mutual benefits rather than competition between the two countries in common areas of interest.

Reciprocating the feelings, General Ilker Basbug said that he was not aware of any other example in the world of such sincere and brotherly feelings binding two national as those existing between the Turkish and Pakistani people.

It is above all this fact that makes it our duty to develop our relations in all fields to a level worthy of the mutual affection between our two societies, he added. He said that Turkey is greatly concerned about the problems between Pakistan and India especially the Kashmir issue. He reiterated Turkey’s firm commitment for peaceful and just settlement of the Kashmir issue.

Concerning the military and defence industry cooperation, the General pointed out that he was certain that the cooperation between the two countries had a bright future, for both sides were willing to work together and further enhance this solidarity.

Both sides expressed the hope that the newly created High level Military Dialogue Group between Pakistan and Turkey will be helpful in achieving the desired results in the field of military cooperation and defence collaboration.

After the opening session the two sides were divided into two sub-groups who will hold discussions on the training and defence cooperation subjects and finalize their proposals before the concluding session.

Later on General Ilker Basbug called on the Minister of state of Defence production, Mr. Habibullah Warraich. The Minister briefed the Turkish guests about the defence production capabilities of Pakistan and stressed on the need for achieving maximum benefit from each other’s expertise in different fields of defence production.

General Ilker Basbug agreeing with the Minister observed that the two countries have great potential in this field and could benefit a lot from each other’s fields of excellence.

He also presented and over all picture of the advancements made by the Turkish defence industry in the production of defence and related fields. The Turkish Deputy Chief of the Turkish General Staff also called on the Secretary Defence, prior to the meeting, and discussed with him matters related to mutual interest and the current HLMDG meeting.