ASTANA, Kazakhstan / ISTANBUL

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, where he traveled for a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.

During the closed-door trilateral meeting, the leaders discussed regional and global issues as well as areas of cooperation between their countries.

In the meeting, Erdogan said that there are many joint steps that Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan can take in various fields, and that these would be beneficial for all three countries.

The Turkish leader noted that in a region beset by wars, conflicts, and tensions, cooperation initiatives would contribute to both regional and global peace.

The meeting was also attended by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar, Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Simsek, Minister of Trade Omer Bolat, and chief advisor on foreign policy and security to the president, Ambassador Akif Cagatay Kilic.

Erdogan on Wednesday flew to Astana to attend the two-day 24th meeting of the council of heads of state of the SCO.

Erdogan is accompanied by first lady Emine Erdogan, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, his chief adviser Akif Cagatay Kilic and other officials.

The SCO was founded in 2001 with Russia, China and Central Asian powers, and later included India, Iran and Pakistan.

It is expected to expand as Belarus, which has an observer status along with Mongolia and Afghanistan, is mulling to join the bloc as a full member. As many as 14 countries including Türkiye have a dialogue partner status.