Turkish Vice President arrives in Karachi

Karachi: Vice President of the Republic of Turkey Cevdet Yilmaz on Tuesday has arrived in Karachi on a two-day official visit.

VP Cevdet arrived to Pakistan in order to witness the launching of the PNS Tariq, the fourth MILGEM Class Corvette, at the Karachi Shipyard.

Details state that Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah met the vice president of Turkiye at Jinnah International Airport.

According to a Foreign Office announcement, the fourth MILGEM Class Corvette, PNS Tariq, will be launched on Wednesday.

The MILGEM project, which was started in 2018, plans to build two Corvettes in Pakistan and two in Turkiye for the Pakistan Navy.

The third Naval Corvette, PNS Khyber, was launched in Istanbul in November 2022, and the prime minister was there for that event.

PNS Babur and PNS Badar, the first two Corvettes, were introduced in August 2021 and May 2022, respectively, at Istanbul and Karachi.

An enduring image of Pakistan and Turkey's cooperation in the maritime sector is the MILGEM project.

It is a concrete step in the direction of independence and indigenization and will meet the Pakistan Navy's pressing security requirements.

During his visit, Vice President Yılmaz will also hold bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Sharif and other Pakistani officials. He will discuss ways to further strengthen the strategic partnership between Türkiye and Pakistan.

Pakistan and Türkiye enjoy deep-rooted fraternal ties, characterized by frequent exchanges at the leadership level, commonality of views on regional and global issues and strengthened cooperation in all areas of mutual interest.