Islamabad, August 8, 2026: President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Sardar Tahir Mehmood, has welcomed the landmark Saudi Arabia-Pakistan-Türkiye Joint Defence Agreement, describing it as a significant development with the potential to strengthen regional stability, strategic confidence and the broader environment for economic cooperation and shared prosperity.
Talking to a visiting group of trade and business leaders on Saturday, Sardar Tahir said stronger strategic ties among the three countries should also translate into greater economic integration, stronger private-sector linkages and mutually beneficial investment partnerships.
“Peace and security create the foundation; business, investment and innovation build prosperity on that foundation,” he said.
The ICCI president said the Chamber was committed to converting the historic Pakistan-Türkiye relationship into tangible economic opportunities and announced the establishment of a dedicated Pakistan-Türkiye Business Facilitation Desk.
He said the desk would provide a permanent platform for the business communities of both countries by facilitating information sharing, connecting investors and exporters, supporting business-to-business matchmaking and helping companies explore commercial opportunities, institutional linkages and potential joint ventures.
The initiative, he added, would help transform bilateral economic engagement from occasional interactions into structured, sustained and results-oriented business cooperation.
Sardar Tahir said ICCI was also taking its economic diplomacy agenda to the next level, with plans to lead a high-powered business delegation to Türkiye on August 13.
The delegation will comprise prominent business leaders and entrepreneurs from diverse sectors and will participate in a Business Opportunity Conference, focused B2B matchmaking meetings and a Global Excellence Award Ceremony.
He said the activities would provide Pakistani businesses with opportunities to establish direct partnerships with Turkish counterparts while showcasing Pakistan’s investment and business potential.
According to Sardar Tahir, the ICCI initiative is aimed at identifying concrete opportunities for bilateral trade, investment, joint ventures, technology cooperation and market access, particularly in sectors where Pakistan and Türkiye can leverage their respective strengths.
He expressed confidence that stronger private-sector engagement would contribute significantly to the shared economic vision of the leadership of Pakistan and Türkiye to increase bilateral trade towards the $5 billion target.
Emphasizing the need for a more results-oriented approach to economic diplomacy, Sardar Tahir said chambers of commerce, business organizations and private-sector leaders must take the lead in developing sustainable commercial partnerships.
“The time has come to move from relationships to results—from meetings to market access, and from agreements to investments and jobs,” he said, reaffirming ICCI’s resolve to position Pakistan’s private sector as a proactive partner in the country’s global economic outreach.
