ANKARA

Pakistan has a vital duty to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan, where conflicts have intensified recently, the Turkish president said on Sunday.

Speaking at a ship launching ceremony as part of the Pakistan MILGEM Corvette Project in Istanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated Pakistan on its 75th day of independence.

“As Turkey, we are facing a wave of Afghan migrants through Iran," he said, adding that his country would continue to put every effort to help bring stability in Afghanistan and in the region.

"To achieve this, we need to boost cooperation with Pakistan." 

"Pakistan with a population of 220 million plays a critical role in efforts to establish peace and increase prosperity in South Asia," he added.

Turkey’s defense industry

Erdogan said Turkey has reduced its foreign dependency in the defense industry from 80% to below 20%.

"Turkey is a country that shares every facility it gains with its friends and brothers, as it grows and becomes stronger," he said.

"When the projects, all of which will be concluded in four to five years, are realized, Turkey will rise to the top league of the world in the field of the defense industry," Erdogan added.

The Turkish president also condoled the loss of lives in a firefighting plane crash in the country’s southern province of Kahramanmaras. All eight people on board died in the plane crash on Saturday.​​​​​​​