ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday congratulated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for winning another presidential term in office, saying that he believes the country will play “an even more effective role” for peace and stability in the Islamic world under his rule, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.
Turkiye’s supreme election authority announced late on Sunday that Erdoğan had won 52.14 percent of the votes, while his challenger, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, received 47.86 percent. The announcement was made after 99.43 percent of the total votes were counted, Turkiye’s election authority said, adding that with a gap of more than two million votes between the candidates, the votes yet to be counted would not change the result. With his latest victory in an unprecedented presidential run-off election, Erdogan managed to extend his rule over the country into a third decade. However, the election results also showed how far the country remains politically polarized, with Kılıçdaroğlu posing the most serious challenge to the Turkish president in years.
Speaking to Erdogan over the phone, PM Sharif told the Turkish leader that his election victory was proof of his commitment and “exemplary service” to the people of Turkiye. He said the country had made considerable progress over the past two decades under Erdogan’s rule.
“I believe that Turkiye will play an even more effective role for peace and stability in the region and the Islamic world,” Sharif said. “Your personal commitment to strengthen and deepen Turkiye and Pakistan’s special relationship is satisfying.”
Sharif told Erdogan Pakistan wanted the seventh Strategic Cooperative Council meeting between both countries to be held soon.
“Your arrival will further promote the strategic partnership of the two brotherly countries in multilateral fields,” Sharif said.
In response, Erdogan thanked the Pakistani prime minister for his kind words and expressed warm wishes for the people and government of Pakistan, the PMO statement said.
Pakistan was one of the foremost countries that dispatched aid and relief items for Turkiye when the country suffered a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in February. Over 50,000 people were killed in parts of Turkiye and Syria where the quake struck while thousands of structures were razed to the ground.
PM Sharif undertook a trip to Turkiye less than two weeks after the quake to express solidarity with the government and people of Turkiye, where he met victims of the disaster and the Turkish leadership.
