Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar addressed the Pakistan-Türkiye Business Conference in Istanbul on July 4, making the case for transforming what he described as an extraordinary political and brotherly relationship between the two countries into an equally dynamic economic partnership anchored in trade, investment, and technology collaboration.
Speaking at the conference, Dar identified several key sectors where Pakistan specifically seeks Turkish investment, including energy, mining and minerals, power infrastructure, information technology, manufacturing, agriculture, logistics, tourism, and defence industries, describing these as areas offering significant opportunities for commercial success alongside technology transfer, industrial modernisation, and employment generation. He placed particular emphasis on emerging technologies, stating that Artificial Intelligence, digital innovation, fintech, advanced manufacturing, and research partnerships will increasingly determine the competitiveness of both economies, and pointing to considerable potential for universities, research institutions, and private sectors in both countries to work together in these fields.
Dar framed economic diplomacy as the defining instrument of modern international relations, describing it as no longer a secondary consideration alongside political dialogue but as the primary arena in which nations create prosperity for their people. He called on embassies, commercial missions, investment promotion agencies, and business organisations from both sides to collaborate more closely to facilitate trade, encourage investment, and remove barriers that constrain entrepreneurs from capitalising on the bilateral relationship. He also highlighted the strategic geographic positioning of both Pakistan and Türkiye at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia, arguing that this shared positioning must be converted into a concrete economic advantage for the citizens of both countries.
The conference took place as part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s official visit to Türkiye at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during which both leaders committed to increasing bilateral trade volume to $5 billion and discussed expanding collaboration in Special Economic Zones. Dar’s remarks reflected a broader diplomatic posture of positioning Pakistan and Türkiye not merely as historical friends but as prospective partners capable of entering global markets and competing internationally through coordinated economic and technological alignment.
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