Islamabad, September 3, 2026: The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) and the Embassy of Türkiye have agreed to intensify private-sector engagement, expand business-to-business cooperation and accelerate efforts to achieve the $5 billion bilateral trade target envisioned by the leadership of Pakistan and Türkiye.
The understanding was reached during a meeting between a delegation of the ICCI, led by President Sardar Tahir Mehmood, and Ambassador of Türkiye Dr. İrfan Neziroğlu at the Turkish Embassy in Islamabad on Thursday.
The ICCI delegation visited the embassy to express appreciation to the ambassador and Commercial Counsellor Enes Malik for their support and facilitation during the chamber’s recent visit to Türkiye, including its Business Opportunity Conference (BoC) and Excellence Award Ceremony in Istanbul.
The ICCI leadership particularly appreciated the embassy’s assistance in facilitating visas for the entire delegation, which enabled Pakistani business representatives to participate in the Istanbul engagements.
Ambassador Dr. İrfan Neziroğlu welcomed ICCI’s initiative to take a business delegation to Türkiye and organise the Business Opportunity Conference, saying private-sector-led engagements were essential for establishing direct commercial linkages between the business communities of the two countries.
He assured the chamber that the Embassy of Türkiye would continue to extend all possible facilitation and cooperation to promote stronger trade, investment and business relations between Pakistan and Türkiye.
Sardar Tahir Mehmood said ICCI highly valued the embassy’s proactive cooperation in facilitating the delegation and connecting Pakistani businessmen with relevant Turkish business circles.
He said the successful Business Opportunity Conference had provided an effective platform for business-to-business interaction, investment discussions and the identification of new avenues of cooperation.
According to Mehmood, the Excellence Award Ceremony also helped reinforce the spirit of friendship and partnership between the two countries.
He said ICCI would continue working to translate the strong political and fraternal relations between Pakistan and Türkiye into concrete economic partnerships and commercially viable opportunities.
Both sides agreed that sustained institutional engagement would be essential to convert the momentum generated by the Istanbul conference into tangible business outcomes.
It was agreed that Mehmood would remain in close contact with Ambassador Neziroğlu to pursue the objective of expanding bilateral business relations and ensuring that private-sector stakeholders in both countries benefit fully from the growing economic partnership.
The two sides expressed satisfaction over the outcome of ICCI’s Istanbul visit and agreed to maintain close institutional coordination to further promote bilateral trade and investment.
They emphasised the importance of organising more business delegations, B2B meetings, joint ventures and sector-specific engagements to identify new opportunities and expand commercial cooperation.
The participants particularly focused on the need to strengthen private-sector participation in efforts to achieve the $5 billion bilateral trade target set by the leadership of Pakistan and Türkiye.
Sardar Tahir Mehmood stressed that the private sector should remain at the centre of efforts to translate the two countries’ longstanding political and friendly relations into sustained trade and investment growth.
ICCI Senior Vice President Tahir Ayub and Secretary General Ghulam Murtaza accompanied the president during the visit, while Commercial Counsellor Enes Malik also attended the meeting.
The ICCI delegation thanked Ambassador Neziroğlu and the embassy team for their hospitality, guidance and comprehensive facilitation, particularly the visa support extended to the entire delegation.
The chamber expressed confidence that the recent engagement in Istanbul and continued institutional coordination would generate new business opportunities and contribute to stronger Pakistan-Türkiye economic cooperation.
