Turkiye’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday to push forward a comprehensive partnership in energy petroleum and mineral exploration. He was welcomed by Pakistan’s Federal Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik alongside Turkish Ambassador Irfan Neziroglu and senior officials marking the start of an important diplomatic and economic engagement between the two brotherly nations.
The Turkish minister is leading a high powered delegation to Pakistan as both sides prepare to formalise a landmark energy agreement. Bayraktar recently stated that Turkiye is ready to launch Pakistan’s first deep sea drilling initiative while also beginning exploration in two onshore blocks and one offshore zone. This signals a significant expansion in bilateral cooperation across the upstream energy sector.
Ahead of the delegation’s arrival Minister Malik met the Turkish ambassador to complete preparations for the high level visit. The meeting was also attended by Secretary Petroleum Momin Agha and OGDCL Managing Director Ahmed Hayat Lak. Malik emphasised that the visit would play a transformational role in strengthening the energy and mining partnership and creating new opportunities for long term collaboration.
Both sides reviewed the growing cooperation between their national companies. It was noted with satisfaction that Turkish Petroleum has joined Pakistan’s offshore and onshore exploration activities. The ambassador also shared that a major Turkish mineral sector company is part of the delegation indicating Turkiye’s strong investment interest in Pakistan’s mineral development sector.
Minister Malik highlighted that leading Pakistani companies including OGDCL PPL and Mari Energies are partnering with Turkish Petroleum which is opening fresh avenues for joint ventures. Ambassador Neziroglu reaffirmed Turkiye’s commitment and expressed confidence that the visit will deepen the strategic and economic relationship between the two countries.
Bayraktar has previously stated that Turkish Pakistani energy ties are stronger than ever with cooperation expanding from deep sea drilling to critical mineral development. He noted that both nations possess substantial mineral reserves and their collaboration will build a strategic value chain in an era defined by the global rush for critical minerals.
