ISLAMABAD: Turkiye’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, arrived in Islamabad on Monday as Pakistan looks to deepen cooperation in energy, petroleum, and mineral exploration. He was received at the airport by Pakistan’s Federal Petroleum Minister, Ali Pervaiz Malik, Turkish Ambassador Irfan Neziroglu, and other senior officials. Bayraktar is heading a high-level delegation to Pakistan.
Just last week, he stated that Turkiye is preparing to formalise a major energy agreement with Pakistan involving both onshore and offshore oil and gas exploration.“We’re getting ready to sign our accord for Pakistan’s first deep-sea drilling project,” he told Lider Haber. “Our collaboration will begin with exploration in two onshore blocks and one offshore zone.”
Ahead of the visit, Minister Malik met Turkish Ambassador Irfan Neziroglu to finalise arrangements for the delegation. Secretary Petroleum Momin Agha and OGDCL Managing Director Ahmed Hayat Lak also attended. Malik said Pakistan is eager to welcome the Turkish delegation, calling the visit “transformational” for strengthening cooperation in the energy and mining sectors.
The meeting reviewed growing collaboration between the two nations. It was noted with satisfaction that Turkish Petroleum has joined Pakistan’s offshore and onshore exploration efforts — a key milestone in bilateral energy ties. Ambassador Neziroglu added that a major Turkish mineral-sector company is also part of the delegation, signalling Turkiye’s strong interest in Pakistan’s mineral development opportunities.
Minister Malik highlighted that Pakistan’s leading exploration companies — OGDCL, PPL, and Mari Energies — are partnering with Turkish Petroleum (TPAO), creating fresh avenues for joint ventures and expanding cooperation globally. Neziroglu reaffirmed Turkiye’s commitment, saying there are “many promising areas of cooperation between the two brotherly countries” and expressed confidence that the visit would “further cement and deepen Pak-Turkiye relations.”
Both sides pledged to ensure the visit’s success and turn shared goodwill into meaningful economic and strategic progress.
Earlier this year, Bayraktar said that Turkish-Pakistani energy relations have entered “a deeper route than ever before,” spanning deep-sea drilling, seismic surveys, critical minerals, and power generation.
He recalled meeting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and signing an MoU enabling Turkish Petroleum to jointly bid with Pakistan’s national oil companies in the Indus offshore basin — an opportunity he described as opening the door to decades-long partnership.
Bayraktar emphasised that cooperation extends beyond oil and gas, noting that both nations are working on knowledge-sharing in critical minerals.“Both countries possess significant reserves, and developing these sites will create a strategic value chain benefiting both nations,” he wrote.
Comparing the current global competition to the “gold rush” of the 19th century, he said the world is now in a “critical minerals rush,” where countries securing their mineral supply chains — including rare earths — will gain a decisive competitive edge.
