It is widely known that Turkey and Pakistan have excellent relations with each other, a fact that was amply demonstrated by the political-military support and assistance that Erdogan provided to the “brotherly” state, as he calls it, in its short war with India. The Turkish President’s fixed goal is the further development of cooperation between the two countries, with particular emphasis on the defense sector, with the ultimate goal of acquiring nuclear weapons from Islamabad.
Turkey-Pakistan cooperation in the field of shipbuilding
In this context, Pakistan and Turkey explored new avenues of maritime cooperation, including in the field of shipbuilding, shipbuilding activities and the shipbreaking industry.
The discussions took place during a meeting between Federal Minister for Shipping Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry and Turkey’s Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu. Both sides agreed on the need to enhance maritime connectivity and strengthen economic ties through sustainable initiatives that could benefit both nations.
Turks ‘set foot’ in Gwadar Port
Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry stressed that Gwadar Port has immense potential for blue economy-related industries, inviting Turkish private sector investors to consider investing in port-based projects.
He said Pakistan is committed to transforming Gwadar into a modern shipping and logistics hub that will facilitate regional trade and contribute significantly to the national economy. The minister stressed that cooperation with Turkey in the maritime sector will not only enhance Pakistan’s technical capacity but also open new channels of regional trade and connectivity.
He underlined that Pakistan attaches great importance to its long-standing brotherly relations with Turkey and looks forward to expanding cooperation beyond traditional sectors to areas such as shipping, logistics, fisheries and port development.
The Turkish minister also announced that a delegation comprising shipowners and port service providers from Turkey will soon visit Pakistan, with a special focus on Gwadar Port, to assess potential investment opportunities. He appreciated Pakistan’s efforts to modernize its port infrastructure and said that Turkish companies are willing to participate in mutually beneficial projects.
Junaid Anwar Chaudhry welcomed the announcement and assured full support and facilitation of the visiting Turkish delegation.
He suggested that Turkish investors could explore setting up a value-added and canning plant in Pakistan, which would allow both countries to tap lucrative export markets for processed seafood.
Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry further announced plans to organize a major maritime conference in Pakistan within the next three months. The event, he said, would bring together local and international players from the shipping, logistics and fisheries sectors to discuss investment opportunities and promote regional cooperation.
The importance of Gwadar port in the “middle route” of the Chinese Silk Road with Turkey as its recipient
Pakistan, as is known, shares borders with China, with the port of Gwadar being the closest exit gateway for goods with recipients in the Gulf countries, including Iraq and through it Turkey, making the latter, through the above route, the main entry gateway for Chinese products into the EU.
We understand from the above that Erdogan, by setting foot in the port of Gwadar, is taking another decisive step, for his country to become the terminal recipient of Chinese products and goods and their entry gateway into the EU, since earlier, as everything seems, he has settled the security issues on the borders of Turkey with Iraq – disarmament and peace with the PKK – and has associated both the regional Kurdish government of Northern Iraq and the Central government of Baghdad.
Finally, we remind you that the above Turkish plan contradicts the Indian route, which via India-Gulf countries-Israel ends in Greece, becoming the gateway for Indian goods to the EU.
Our assessment is that this is one of the main reasons why Turkey constantly accuses Israel of its stance against the Palestinians and Hamas, trying to rally the Arab Gulf countries against it, resulting in the Indian route, which the US-EU have favored, not being implemented.
Therefore, Erdogan has every advantage in constantly playing the anti-Israel card and preventing the Trump plan for disarming Hamas and bringing peace to the region from succeeding.
