ISTANBUL, Jan 24 (DNA): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has underscored that the defence collaboration for the construction of warships is another milestone in Turkey-Pakistan defence ties.

He was addressing the launching the practical work on third ship to be constructed for Pakistan Navy held at Istanbul Naval Shipyard (INSY), Turkey, says a press statement issued by the Pakistan Navy Sunday.

Ambassador of Pakistan in Turkey Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi also accompanied the Turkish President at the ground-breaking of the third of the four corvettes for Pakistan Navy.

President Erdogan said Pakistan is our brotherly country with whom Turkey enjoys excellent relations. He said both Pakistan and Turkey are living in difficult geographies but both countries are facing similar challenges.

The Turkish President highlighted that Turkey would continue to support friendly and allied countries in the defence field.

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

He underscored the defense collaboration for construction of MILGEM class warships as major milestone in Pak-Turkey defense ties.

According to statement, the MILGEM class corvettes will be state-of-the-art surface platforms equipped with modern surface, subsurface and anti-air weapons and sensors integrated through a network centric Combat Management System.

MILGEM corvettes will significantly enhance maritime defence and deterrence capabilities of Pakistan Navy. These ships will augment Pakistan Navy’s kinetic punch and will significantly contribute in maintaining peace, stability and balance of power in Indian Ocean Region.

The contract for four MILGEM class corvettes for Pakistan Navy with concurrent Transfer of Technology (ToT) was signed with ASFAT Inc, a Turkish state owned Defence contractor in 2018. The ToT entails construction of two corvettes at Istanbul Naval Shipyard while another two at Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KS&EW).=DNA

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