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ISLAMABAD: The commissioning ceremony of the second Pakistan Navy MILGEM class ship, PNS Khaibar, was held at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard in T&uuml;rkiye, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attending as the chief guest, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Sunday. The Milli Gemi Projesi (MILGEM) or National Ship Project is the national warship program managed by the Turkish Navy. According to ISPR, the Pakistan military&#39;s media wing, the ceremony was also attended by Admiral Naveed Ashraf, Chief of the Naval Staff of Pakistan, along with senior officials from both countries.<div class="fr-embed"> </div>Addressing the ceremony, President Erdoğan described the Pakistan-T&uuml;rkiye relationship as a close and enduring partnership. He termed the brotherly ties between the two countries &ldquo;exemplary&rdquo; and stressed the importance of expanding cooperation in defence production, ISPR said. Speaking on the occasion, Admiral Naveed Ashraf acknowledged the roles of the Turkish state-owned defense company ASFAT, the Istanbul Naval Shipyard, and the original equipment manufacturers involved in the planning, design, and construction of the Pakistan Navy MILGEM ships. &ldquo;The Chief of the Naval Staff appreciated the deepening defence partnership between Pakistan and T&uuml;rkiye,&rdquo; ISPR said, adding that he highlighted how bilateral engagements between the Pakistan Navy and Turkish Naval Forces &ldquo;contribute immensely towards strengthening Pakistan-T&uuml;rkiye defence collaboration and reflect an enduring partnership.&rdquo; Following the commissioning ceremony, the Turkish president visited PNS Khaibar, where he was presented with a guard of honor and interacted with the ship&rsquo;s crew, according to the military&rsquo;s media wing.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2002650419223539938&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=5e4eb668e8337f688a4ffc25095335b6777ba6f2&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 1055px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2002650419223539938"></iframe></div></div></div>ISPR said President Erdoğan and Admiral Naveed Ashraf also exchanged views on regional maritime security and discussed avenues for future joint initiatives between the Pakistan Navy and Turkish Naval Forces. The Pakistan Navy MILGEM ships are among the most technologically advanced surface platforms in the fleet. ISPR said the vessels are equipped with modern command-and-control systems and advanced weapons and sensors. The contract for the construction of four MILGEM-class ships for Pakistan was signed in 2018 between Pakistan&rsquo;s Ministry of Defence Production and ASFAT of T&uuml;rkiye. Under the agreement, two ships were to be built in T&uuml;rkiye and two in Pakistan. ISPR said the commissioning of PNS Khaibar marked the completion of the construction of both MILGEM ships being built in T&uuml;rkiye, representing a major milestone in bilateral defence cooperation. In a message shared on social media platform X, President Erdoğan recalled the origins of the MILGEM project, saying, &ldquo;In September 2018, we signed a construction contract for 4 MILGEM ships.&quot; He added, &ldquo;We delivered the first ship, PNS Babur, to Pakistan on 24 May 2024. Today, we also completed the delivery of PNS Khaibar, which has successfully completed all tests and trials.&rdquo; <div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 550px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 2;"><iframe scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2002401103602987445&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=c217259fef387add13882394658ca23afbba96c7&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 873px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>

Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf hands over Command scroll to CO PNS Khaibar during the commissioning ceremony held at Istanbul Naval Shipyard, Türkiye (X / DGPR Navy) 

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The commissioning ceremony of the second Pakistan Navy MILGEM class ship, PNS Khaibar, was held at Istanbul Naval Shipyard in Türkiye, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attending as the chief guest.

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