Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has invited Turkcell, one of Türkiye’s largest telecommunications companies, to explore long-term investment and collaboration in Pakistan’s digital and technology sectors, with the meeting taking place in Istanbul between the Prime Minister and Turkcell Chief Executive Officer Ali Taha Koç.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister underscored the importance of deepening Pakistan-Türkiye cooperation in the digital and technology sectors, sharing the government’s vision of establishing a Pakistan-Türkiye Digital Corridor designed to strengthen regional digital connectivity, facilitate secure cross-border data flows, and advance the integration of digital infrastructure between the two countries. The proposed corridor reflects a broader diplomatic direction of positioning technology cooperation as a strategic pillar of the Pakistan-Türkiye bilateral relationship rather than limiting collaboration to trade and defence.
The Prime Minister specifically invited Turkcell to explore opportunities across 5G deployment, network optimisation, spectrum management, digital infrastructure, and technology transfer, while also encouraging the company to consider partnerships in local manufacturing of telecommunications equipment, software development, digital skills development, and capacity building. He noted that such cooperation would strengthen Pakistan’s technology ecosystem while generating employment opportunities and sustainable growth, framing the invitation within Pakistan’s broader effort to attract strategic foreign direct investment into high-value sectors of its economy. The Prime Minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to maintaining a transparent, predictable, and investment-friendly business environment backed by the Special Investment Facilitation Council, which has been the primary institutional mechanism for facilitating strategic foreign investment since its establishment.
Turkcell Chief Executive Officer Ali Taha Koç expressed appreciation for Pakistan’s digital transformation agenda and confirmed the company’s interest in exploring collaboration opportunities across telecommunications, digital infrastructure, and emerging technologies. He reaffirmed Turkcell’s commitment to working with relevant Pakistani stakeholders to develop mutually beneficial partnerships contributing to the shared economic and technological ambitions of both countries, leaving the door open for follow-up engagements that could translate the Istanbul meeting into concrete investment commitments.
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