ISLAMABAD: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Pakistan on a two-day official visit on the invitation of Prime Minister Imran Khan, officials said.  The prime minister received Erdogan on his arrival at a military airbase near the capital Islamabad.

 According to Foreign Ministry officials, Erdogan is accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising cabinet members and senior government officials, as well as heads and Chief Executive Officers of leading Turkish corporations.  During the visit, Khan and Erdogan will have tete-a-tete, after which they will co-chair meeting of the Pakistan-Turkey High Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC), a foreign ministry statement said.

 The HILSCC is the highest level decision-making forum, providing strategic direction to further strengthening of relations between the two countries.  There are 7 Joint Working Groups (JWGs) working under the HLSCC, focused on Political Coordination, Trade and Investment, Energy; Banking and Finance, Transport and Communications, Culture and Tourism and Education. 

 So far, 5 sessions of the HLSCC have been held, alternately in Islamabad and Ankara, according to the statement. At the conclusion of the session, a joint declaration will be signed. A number of important agreements and memorandums of understanding are expected to be concluded. The two leaders will have a joint press stakeout.

 Erdogan will separately meet with his Pakistani counterpart Arif Alvi and will also address a joint session of the Parliament of Pakistan on Friday.  Together with Khan, he will address the Pakistan-Turkey Business and Investment Forum which brings together leading investors and business-people from both sides. “The visit of President Erdogan will serve to underscore the traditional solidarity and affinity between the two countries, and prove to be another significant milestone in the further deepening and broadening of the flourishing Pakistan-Turkey strategic partnership,” a foreign ministry statement has said. NNI