It is possible to benefit from the expanding cooperation between Pakistan and Turkey in multilateral areas such as reducing Western influence in the region, reducing the need for defense and economy from the West, and strengthening Eastern, Asian, and multilateral cooperation with Iran, Russia, and China.
The rapprochement between Pakistan and Turkey gained momentum in 2017-2018 but has gained wider dimensions in the last year.
Along with the visits of Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to Turkey in 2025 and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Pakistan in February 2025, the signing of various memoranda of understanding and agreements further strengthened bilateral strategic and economic relations.
Despite the Pakistani Prime Minister’s emphasis on promoting comprehensive cooperation with Turkey and transforming relations into a strategic partnership, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently met and held talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in China on August 31, 2025.
As two key strategic players in the Islamic world and members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and D-8, both countries emphasize strengthening their relations and have common approaches and important regional dialogues on issues such as condemning Israel in Gaza, Israel attacking Iran, and the situation of the Palestinian genocide.
The changes in global geopolitics and regions such as the South Caucasus, the Middle East, and South Asia have led to attention to opportunities for cooperation in strategic interests, playing a more active regional role, and pursuing common visions.
While Turkey particularly supports Pakistan’s positions on the Kashmir crisis, Ankara values the growing trend of relations between Pakistan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). In addition, the trilateral summit and the Ankara-Baku-Islamabad axis and the multilateral geopolitical rapprochement in energy, defense, and strategic areas have gained greater importance for Pakistan.
In recent years, military cooperation in the security and defense sectors has increased significantly. In the past year, 24 memoranda of understanding and agreements have been signed covering bilateral cooperation in various fields, including air force, electronic warfare, and defense production. The new permanent joint committee on defense, intelligence, and security has also strengthened bilateral cooperation.
Several reasons, such as the effort to diversify military partners, the increasing tendency to expand its defense and military industries without relying on the West, the desire to have superior military technologies, the demonstration of strength against regional competitors, and the effort to expand the scope of influence, have been effective in the increasing expansion of defense relations. For example, Türkiye has become the second-largest supplier of weapons to Pakistan.
In the past year, the awarding of the Turkish Military Medal of Honor to the Commander of the Pakistani Navy, the holding of the Pakistan-Turkey amphibious exercise in Karachi, the holding of the first meeting to establish a joint production center for drones and fifth-generation fighter jets, meetings of military commanders, cooperation in the modernization of the Pakistani Navy, and the strengthening of industrial and defense cooperation between Turkey and Pakistan have been prominent.
Many in India believe that in the recent military conflict between India and Pakistan, Turkey provided extensive support to Pakistan and delivered drones and important military equipment. As Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif thanked Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his “support during the India-Pakistan conflict.”
The high-level talks of the past year have focused on strengthening information cooperation and information exchange, as well as the importance of strategic alignment between the two countries.
At the end of May 2025, the importance of information sharing between the countries for combating terrorism was announced. One successful example of cooperation in the field of counter-terrorism was the joint operation and arrest of a senior ISIS member with Turkish nationality on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
One of the most important areas of cooperation between Pakistan and Turkey is the economic and trade sector. Both countries are sometimes under pressure from US sanctions and devaluation of the national currency, inflation, etc. Although the volume of bilateral trade between Turkey and Pakistan has crossed the $1 billion mark, there are plans to increase it to $5 billion through Turkish foreign direct investment in Pakistan, cooperation in renewable energy, productivity, and resource exploration.
As challenges have changed the global economic landscape, multipolar trade relations and multilateral cooperation, such as the links between the Gwadar and Chabahar ports and the completion of the railway connection, can connect Turkey, Iran, China, and Pakistan and create a more comprehensive regional trade network.
In the energy sector, we are also seeing attention to the potential. For example, Turkey and Pakistan are working together to jointly explore 40 offshore oil and gas blocks in Pakistan. If successful, this could transform Pakistan’s economy.
Outlook
The recent signing of some agreements between Pakistan and Turkey, and the activation of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC), is seen as a fertile ground for future cooperation.
In the future, Turkey and Pakistan will continue to prioritize geopolitical, security, and defense cooperation in their relationship.
In fact, it seems that by strengthening defense cooperation, exercises, cooperation in the regional security environment, joint production of strategic weapons, joint partnership prospects, and learning from each other’s experiences, deepening, diversifying, and institutionalizing “Strategic Partnership” and Multidimensional partnership between the two countries should increase.
Although Ankara’s insistence, Pakistan has not fully recognized the independence and sovereignty of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus; however, Ankara’s approach in recent months has caused widespread reactions and dissatisfaction with India.
However, the special focus of the two countries on the axis of anti-India cooperation can cause more challenges. Therefore, Turkey’s growing support for Pakistan in the conflict with India may actually strengthen India’s relations with Turkey’s rivals.
It is possible to benefit from the expanding cooperation between Pakistan and Turkey in multilateral areas such as reducing Western influence in the region, reducing the need for defense and economy from the West, and strengthening Eastern, Asian, and multilateral cooperation with Iran, Russia, and China.
Pakistan and Turkey’s cooperation can be multilateral in the form of regional trade corridors, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and even BRICS, and lead to a reduction in regional conflicts. It should also be noted that Ankara’s efforts in cooperation with Islamabad in regions such as the South Caucasus should not harm the interests of eastern players such as Iran and Russia.
Samyar Rostami, а political observer and senior researcher in international relations
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