ISLAMABAD: Officials from Islamabad and Ankara discussed regional and global security issues on Thursday, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said, as both countries eye greater collaboration in defense and other sectors.

A delegation of Turkish officials led by the country’s Director General for South Asia Ambassador Cihad Erginay met a Pakistani delegation headed by Additional Secretary (Afghanistan & West Asia) Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Syed Ali Asad Gillani. The two sides met during the inaugural meeting of the Pakistan-Türkiye Joint Standing Committee (JSC) on Security, Defense and Intelligence.

The joint committee was created after the seventh session of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC) between Pakistan and Türkiye on February 12 and 13, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.

“Both sides discussed emerging geo-political trends including global and regional security issues,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

It said discussions at the joint committee will contribute to preparations for a meeting of the joint commission between the two nations, which will be co-chaired by Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and Türkiye’s foreign minister.

“Both countries continue to work closely across a broad spectrum of areas, including defense, trade, energy, transport, culture, tourism, education, defense industries, agriculture, health, science and technology,” the statement concluded.

The development takes place amid deepening relations between the two countries and follows Türkiye’s public condemnation of Indian cross-border strikes in Pakistan during a brief conflict between the two South Asian neighbors in May.

Both countries have maintained close military ties in recent years. Under a 2018 agreement, Türkiye is delivering four MILGEM-class corvettes to the Pakistan Navy, with two built in Istanbul and two at Karachi Shipyard under a technology transfer arrangement.

The first vessel, PNS Babur, was delivered in 2023.

Türkiye’s foreign and defense ministers also arrived in Pakistan earlier this month for a series of high-level meetings focusing on counterterrorism, defense cooperation and broader strategic ties.

Pakistan’s Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad attended the 17th International Defense Industry Fair in Istanbul on Wednesday.

The top Pakistani general held separate meetings with the defense ministers of Türkiye and Azerbaijan to discuss bilateral security cooperation, the Pakistani military’s media wing said.