Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Pakistan later this week as part of a three-nation Asia tour to boost ties with Malaysia, Indonesia and Pakistan, according to Turkish news outlet Daily Sabah.

Erdogan will begin his four-day trip today in Malaysia before heading to Indonesia and concluding the tour in Pakistan.

His meetings will “focus on enhancing cooperation in various fields, as well as hot topics on the international agenda, from the Palestine-Israel conflict to the situation in Syria … as well as the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” the Daily Sabah said.

“Erdogan’s last stopover will be Pakistan, whose relations with Turkiye reached the highest level under successive tenures of the Turkish president,” the daily reported.

It noted that the two countries have particularly increased cooperation in the defence industry, with deals signed on the acquisition of naval vessels and uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Pakistan was the first country to sign a deal to purchase Turkiye’s nationally-made naval vessels as part of the MILGEM (National Ship) project, it added.

The Turkish president last visited Pakistan on a two-day visit in February 2020, where he met with then-president Arif Alvi and prime minister Imran Khan. The trip was aimed at strengthening bilateral strategic partnership and economic ties.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday held a meeting with Erdogan during a brief stopover at Istanbul Airport en route to Portugal.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warmly received the president at the airport.

Zardari and his Turkish counterpart discussed bilateral ties and matters of mutual interest during their meeting.

President Zardari is currently on a visit to Portugal to express condolences on the passing of Prince Karim Aga Khan and meet with Prince Rahim Al-Husseini, who was named the 50th hereditary imam following his father’s death.