Thu 29 May 2025:
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced significant energy developments during a speech on Thursday. Highlighting Turkey’s expanding role in regional energy, Erdogan revealed that Turkish Petroleum has reached an agreement to explore two onshore fields in Pakistan. Additionally, the two countries agreed on offshore exploration, with operations set to begin soon.
These moves follow Erdogan’s February visit to Pakistan and mark a growing cooperation between the two nations in the energy sector.
Erdogan emphasized ongoing international energy activities, including projects in Somalia, Libya, and Europe, where Turkey is exporting natural gas to countries like Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Serbia.
In recent weeks, Erdogan had expressed solidarity with Pakistan after India conducted military attacks across nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. New Delhi said the attacks were in response to an April 22 attack on tourists by armed fighters in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, which left 25 Indians and one Nepalese national dead. India has accused Pakistan of indirectly supporting the attack – which Pakistan denies.
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Turkiye faces backlash in India
Turkiye and Pakistan have long had close economic and military links.
In February, Erdogan visited Islamabad, during which the two countries signed 24 cooperation agreements to bolster bilateral ties.
In a sign of India’s displeasure with Ankara, India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson last week said that “relations are built on the basis of sensitivities to each other’s concerns”.
“We expect Turkey to strongly urge Pakistan to end its support to cross-border terrorism and take credible and verifiable actions against the terror ecosystem it has harbored for decades,” Randhir Jaiswal said during a press briefing on Thursday.
Meanwhile, grocery shops and leading online fashion retailers in India declared a boycott of Turkish products ranging from chocolates, coffee, jams, and cosmetics, as well as clothing.
Indian fashion websites owned by Flipkart retail and billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance removed numerous Turkish apparel brands from their sites.
Turkey and Pakistan share deep-rooted historical and ideological connections. Their partnership, grounded in a shared Islamic identity, dates back to the Cold War era.
Since Erdogan’s rise to power in 2003, the relationship has grown even closer, shaped by shared views on political Islam and opposition to secular Arab regimes. Erdogan has visited Pakistan over 10 times, most recently co-chairing the 7th High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council in February 2025.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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