Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was welcomed warmly with a guard of honour on Thursday morning upon his arrival at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad for talks with PM Shehbaz Sharif.
The Turkish president arrived in Islamabad shortly after Thursday midnight and was received by the premier and President Asif Ali Zardari. Both leaders are set to hold meetings with the visiting guest during his official two-day visit.
PM Shehbaz and several federal ministers greeted Erdogan as a formal welcome ceremony was held in his honour at the PM House today, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
A contingent of armed forces presented a guard of honour to the visiting dignitary, with the national anthems of both countries also played.
Erdogan’s visit marks the final leg of President Erdogan’s overseas tour, which included stops in Malaysia and Indonesia.
According to a Foreign Office statement, the Turkish president — accompanied by a high-level delegation, including ministers, senior officials, and corporate leaders — would be visiting Pakistan from Feb 12 to 13.
During the visit, it added, PM Shehbaz and President Erdogan would also co-chair the 7th session of the Pakistan-Turkiye High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC) session. The council’s last session was held in Islamabad on Feb 13-14, 2020.
*More to follow