PM Shehbaz Sharif Meets Top Turkish Business Leaders, Invites Investment in Pakistan
Istanbul: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held a series of high-level meetings with senior executives of Türkiye's leading business groups and industry organizations in Istanbul, reaffirming Pakistan's commitment to strengthening bilateral economic cooperation and attracting increased Turkish investment across key sectors.
During his visit, the Prime Minister met Çalık Holding Chairman Ahmet Çalık, Albayrak Group Chairman Ahmet Albayrak, and Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu.
The Prime Minister emphasized the longstanding brotherly relationship between Pakistan and Türkiye, stressing the need to transform the two countries' close political ties into a stronger economic and investment partnership. He highlighted Pakistan's improving macroeconomic indicators, investor-friendly policies, and the government's commitment to ensuring a transparent, predictable, and business-friendly investment environment.
Shehbaz Sharif invited Turkish companies to expand their investments in Pakistan's priority sectors, including energy, mining and minerals, infrastructure, maritime services, logistics, information technology, telecommunications, manufacturing, agriculture, and privatization.
He also noted that the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) continues to provide one-window facilitation and institutional support to strategic investors through close coordination with federal and provincial authorities.
During his meeting with Çalık Holding Chairman Ahmet Çalık, the Prime Minister highlighted investment opportunities in Pakistan's energy, infrastructure, information technology, and privatization sectors. He welcomed the company's interest in expanding its operations, noting that its existing presence through Çalık Enerji and GAP İnşaat provides a strong foundation for broader economic cooperation.
In discussions with Albayrak Group Chairman Ahmet Albayrak, the Prime Minister appreciated the company's longstanding presence in Pakistan and encouraged it to further increase investments in maritime infrastructure, port modernization, and logistics. He acknowledged the group's contribution to enhancing Pakistan's connectivity and infrastructure development.
Meeting TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the organization's efforts to strengthen business-to-business cooperation between Pakistan and Türkiye.
He proposed establishing a structured institutional mechanism for regular interaction between the private sectors of both countries and invited TOBB to lead a high-level Turkish business delegation to Pakistan to explore emerging investment opportunities.
The Turkish business leaders appreciated Pakistan's ongoing economic reforms, improved investment climate, and investor-friendly policies. They expressed confidence in the country's economic outlook and reaffirmed their commitment to expanding investments and building long-term partnerships in strategic sectors.
The meetings concluded with both sides expressing optimism that enhanced private-sector collaboration would further strengthen the growing economic partnership between Pakistan and Türkiye.
