Pakistan and Turkmenistan have agreed to strengthen their trade ties, according to details surfaced on Thursday.

After arriving in Turkmenistan on a two-day official visit, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Turkmenistan president Serdar Berdimuhamedow in Ashgabat, during which he expressed his resolve to reinforce bilateral relations and to advance commercial and economic links.

The prime minister thanked the Turkmen government for its assistance in the evacuation of Pakistanis during the Iran–Israel conflict. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s wish to expand its connections with Turkmenistan through land and sea routes, saying that the ports of Karachi and Gwadar hold an exemplary geographical position which Turkmenistan may employ to widen its access to South Asia and beyond.

The prime minister thanked the Turkmenistan president for the warm hospitality extended to the Pakistani delegation and conveyed good wishes for the national leader of the Turkmen people, His Excellency Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. He renewed his invitation to the national leader of the Turkmen people and to President Serdar Berdimuhamedov to undertake an official visit to Pakistan in the coming year.

The President of Turkmenistan expressed gratitude for the Prime Minister’s visit and for his participation in the international forum on Peace and Trust, and assured that Turkmenistan is keen to advance bilateral cooperation with Pakistan in various fields of mutual interest.

The Prime Minister is in Ashgabat on a two-day official visit to attend the international forum being held on the occasion of the Global Year of Peace and Trust (2025), the International Day of Neutrality, and the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s permanent neutrality, and will remain there until 12 December 2025.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Minister for Energy Owais Ahmed Khan Leghari, Minister for Information Atta Tarar, along with other cabinet members and senior officials, were also present at the meeting.