Turkish President Recep Taying Erdogan had come to attend the rth session of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, and also to have bilateral interaction with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. Apart from the religious, cultural and historical ties binding the two countries, in the present day both are faced with similar territorial challenges, Pakistan with that over Kashmir with India, Turkiye with that over Cyprus with Greece. They support each other on these issues, which in turn has made their cooperation on other issues easy, such as the economy and defence. Most notable was the two leaders’ decision to raise bilateral trade to $5 billion. This is especially important for Pakistan, as Turiye is an applicant for EU membership, and even though there are strong objections to it, it still provides an entry into European trade.
The MoUs signed reflect this, especially the one on agriculture, which was about halal food. This shows not just the kind of cultural affinity that makes the two countries such a good fit, but also shows awareness of the potential for halal products wherever part of a Muslim diaspora lives, not just in Europe, but in both North and South America. Defence cooperation has so far centred around the air forces and navies; with the Pakistan Navy have inducted Turkish-built vessels into its fleet. It should be noted that their cooperation is no longer of the sort that one bound them in the same CENTO alliance, but between their respective defence industries.
It should be noted that while both countries aspire to be modern countries fully enjoying the fruits of technology and industry, they also are active parts of the Islamic Ummah, and have supported the aspirations of the Palestinian, Turkish Cypriot and Kashmiri people.
The two countries have a particularly important role within this context. They illustrate that contrary to some Western propaganda, Islam is not merely an Arab religion, what with Turkiye and Pakistan being firmly Muslim, and firmly non-Arab. The affinity between the two goes back to before the First World War, when neither state in its present form yet existed. That cooperation and friendship has persisted, and President Erdogan’s latest visit shows that the friendship is between the two peoples, not just the two states. There is a lot that can be done, and this visit must be seen as part of an ongoing process, rather than as a culmination.
