Field Marshal Asim Munir meets Erdogan, Turkish military chief in Ankara

ISLAMABAD: Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara during his official visit to Turkiye, according to a post shared by the Turkish Presidency on X.

The presidency said Erdogan received Munir at Ankara airport and also shared a photograph of the meeting. The talks took place behind closed doors at the airport. Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, Chief of the Turkish General Staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, and National Intelligence Organisation Director Ibrahim Kalin were also present.

In a separate post on X, the Turkish embassy in Pakistan said Munir was presented a guard of honour by a tri-services contingent of the Turkish armed forces after arriving in Ankara. The embassy said General Bayraktaroglu welcomed him during the official visit.

The Turkish embassy said defence ties between the two countries were continuing to deepen. "Rooted in brotherhood, mutual trust and a shared strategic vision, the enduring defence and military cooperation between Turkiye and Pakistan continues to grow stronger,"

Munir reached Turkiye on Monday on a two-day official visit. State media had earlier reported that he would hold important meetings with the country’s political and military leadership during the trip. The exact timing of his meetings with Erdogan and General Bayraktaroglu was not clear from the information released on Tuesday.

Pakistan had not issued an official statement on the visit at the time of the report.

Recent defence contacts

The visit comes weeks after General Metin Tokel, commander of the Turkish Land Forces, travelled to Pakistan and met Munir. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations, the two sides discussed regional security dynamics and possible avenues for expanding bilateral defence cooperation.

During that visit, General Tokel also held meetings with Pakistan’s naval and air chiefs.