KARACHI: In a ceremony on Sunday, a Turkish-build MILGEM Corvette warship was unveiled, as it was announced that the Turkish National Defense Ministry firm ASFAT will be building four vessels for the Pakistan Navy; making it the single-largest export of the Turkish defense industry.

The keel-laying ceremony was held in Karachi, with Turkey’s National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Pakistani Defense Production Minister Zubaida Jalal Khan attending the program. At the ceremony, Akar underlined the “excellent” relationship between the two countries, and their long history of cooperation and support on different domains, adding that the "Pakistani people, because of their invaluable support during our war of independence, have a special place in our hearts and minds. Turkish people will never forget the generosity of the Pakistani people with whom we're always together, in good and bad times”.

Pakistan’s Defense Production Minister added that “the MILGEM project will always be remembered as a symbol of Turkish-Pakistani friendship”, underlining her hopes of maintaining this bilateral cooperation in meeting the operational needs of the Pakistani Navy in the current geostrategic environment, to contribute to “maintaining peace, security and balance of power” in the Indian Ocean.

The Pakistan Navy signed a contract with ASFAT in July 2018, for the acquisition of four MILGEM ships, as Turkey is one of the few countries in the world that can design and manufacture warships using domestic capabilities.