UPDATE - Turkish foreign minister meets Pakistani premier in Islamabad

UPDATES WITH MORE INFORMATION

By Seda Sevencan

ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met on Monday Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other senior government officials.

In a X post, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Fidan was received by Sharif in the Pakistani capital Islamabad.

The Turkish minister also held a meeting with Yousuf Raza Gilani, the chairman of Pakistan's Senate, the upper house of parliament.

After official talks he met with Turkish businesspeople and institutional representatives at the country's embassy in Islamabad.

Earlier, Fidan discussed several issues with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar and held a joint news conference.

Fidan arrived in Islamabad on a two-day visit on Sunday to discuss bilateral relations and international developments.

Türkiye and Pakistan have maintained close relations based on friendship and brotherhood since Pakistan's independence in 1947.

The relations between the two countries have been institutionalized with the establishment of the High-Level Cooperation Council in 2009, which was later upgraded to the level of High- Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC), the foreign ministry said on its website.