CDF Asim Munir arrives in Turkiye on two-day official visit: state media

• Field Marshal Munir begins two-day official visit to Turkiye.
• CDF Munir to meet Turkish military, political leadership.
• Visit follows Turkish Land Forces commander's Pakistan trip.

Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir has arrived in Turkiye on a two-day official visit, state media reported on Monday.

During the visit, Field Marshal Munir is scheduled to hold key meetings with Turkiye's military and political leadership to discuss matters of mutual interest, Radio Pakistan reported, citing security sources. He was accorded a warm welcome upon his arrival.

The visit comes a month after General Metin Tokel, commander of the Turkish Land Forces, travelled to Pakistan and met Field Marshal Munir at General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

The two sides discussed matters of mutual professional interest, regional security developments and opportunities to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

During his stay in Pakistan, General Tokel also visited Naval Headquarters in Islamabad, where he called on Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf.

The ISPR said that matters of professional interest and the regional maritime security environment were discussed.

He later met Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu at Air Headquarters (AHQ) to discuss bilateral military cooperation and other professional matters.

The Turkish commander praised the professionalism of the Pakistan Armed Forces and acknowledged their contributions to regional peace and stability, the ISPR said.

Pakistan and Turkiye share longstanding brotherly relations, underpinned by strong strategic, political, defence and economic cooperation.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, where the two leaders reaffirmed longstanding brotherly ties between Islamabad and Istanbul.

They also pledged to expand economic cooperation, with a target of increasing bilateral trade to $5 billion.