ISLAMABAD – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Saturday launched thewelding of third ship to be constructed for Pakistan Navy under MILGEMproject.

Ambassador of Pakistan in Turkey Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi alsoaccompanied the Turkish president at the groundbreaking of the third of thefour MILGEM Ada class corvette for Pakistan Navy in Istanbul.

Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Mustafa Sentop, Minister ofNational Defence of Turkey Hulusi Akar, Chief of Turkish General StaffGeneral Yasar Guler, Commander of Turkish Naval Forces Admiral Adnan Ozbal,and other dignitaries also attended the ceremony that also marked launchingof 1st Turkish Navy Istanbul Class frigate.

Addressing guests at the ceremony, President Erdogan said Pakistan was “ourbrotherly country with whom Turkey enjoys excellent relations.” Heunderscored that the defence collaboration for the construction of MILGEMclass warships was another milestone in Turkey-Pakistan defence ties.

President Erdogan said both Pakistan and Turkey were living in difficultgeographies and both countries were facing similar challenges. Hehighlighted that Turkey would continue to support friendly and alliedcountries in the defence field.

While referring to his last year’s Pakistan visit, President Erdogan saidthe two countries signed a Strategic Economic Framework that would providethe necessary institutional framework to further enhance bilateral ties.

All Turkish dignitaries who spoke at the ceremony hailed exemplaryPakistan-Turkish brotherly relations and reiterated Turkey’s support toPakistan on the core issues of its national interest. Under the project,four corvettes are being built, two in Turkey and two in Pakistan. Theproject embodies transfer of technology as well as upgrade of KarachiShipyard. Addition of the stealthy frigates to the Pakistan Navy wouldfurther augment its defence capabilities.