Turkiye ties driving naval capacity: CNS

KARACHI:

Pakistan's fast-growing defense partnership with Türkiye has become one of the region's most prominent examples of successful technology transfer, according to Pakistan's navy chief, who says cooperation between the two countries has already "significantly strengthened" Islamabad's domestic industrial capacity.

Speaking to Anadolu, Pakistan's Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf said the collaboration — especially in naval shipbuilding — demonstrates how shared ambitions for self-reliance can translate into concrete industrial gains.

At the center of this "success story," he noted, is the joint production of MILGEM-class corvettes, one of Pakistan's largest defense projects involving a foreign partner.

Ashraf described the warship program as a "living example of this cooperation." Under a 2018 agreement, Pakistan acquired four MILGEM corvettes from Türkiye's ASFAT: two built in Türkiye and two constructed at Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works, a model designed specifically to transfer design, engineering and project-management expertise to Pakistan.

Calling the initiative a "hallmark of Pakistan-Türkiye defense collaboration and technology sharing," he said the program has "significantly strengthened" Pakistan's local industrial base, "paving the way for future self-reliance in naval shipbuilding."

With the experience gained, he added, Islamabad and Ankara can "build on this success to explore joint development of unmanned maritime systems, underwater technologies and advanced sensors."

Türkiye and Pakistan's "shared commitment to self-reliance and innovation" makes such partnerships "practical and mutually beneficial," he said.

Ashraf also emphasized that cooperation is not only technical but strategic, noting that maritime security in the current geopolitical environment requires "cooperation against shared challenges."

"We view Türkiye's engagement in the region as complementary to our vision of a secure maritime environment for economic prosperity," he said, referring to Ankara's expanding naval influence in the Indian Ocean and East Africa.

"Both navies share common goals viz-a-viz regional stability, maritime connectivity and cooperative security; our regular interactions strengthen these shared objectives," he added.

Pakistan's navy, he said, plays "a key role in ensuring regional maritime security and safeguarding the maritime domain connected with CPEC," the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

PIMEC to 'rejuvenate' maritime economy

Ashraf also highlighted Pakistan's efforts to revive its blue economy, an area where he said Islamabad and Ankara "share a strong and enduring partnership."

Speaking about the second edition of the Pakistan International Maritime Expo and Conference (PIMEC), held earlier this month in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, he said the event aimed to "rejuvenate" maritime economic activities and showcase the country's broader "maritime potential."

Beyond shipbuilding, the navy chief noted that Pakistan is "progressively incorporating" emerging domains such as information dominance and cyber resilience into its training, doctrines, and joint exercises.

"Collaboration with friendly navies like Türkiye helps both sides build skills in network-centric warfare, electronic warfare operations and modern concepts, ensuring preparedness against evolving threats," he said.