Turkey commences construction of naval warship for Pakistan: report

Turkey has started the construction of a naval warship to be sold to close ally Pakistan as part of a deal signed in 2018, a media report said on Monday. The announcement was made by Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a ceremony on Sunday to mark the commencement for the construction of the warship named MILGEM, the Geo News reported.

"I hope that Pakistan benefits from the the naval warship that was being provided to it by Turkey," the report quoted him as saying during the ceremony. In July 2018, Pakistan Navy had signed a contract for the acquisition of four MILGEM-class ships from Turkey.

According to the Erdogan, Turkey was one of only 10 countries worldwide that were able to build, design, and maintain warships using national capabilities. Erdogan also commissioned a new naval warship into the Turkish Navy on the occasion and hailed the warship building capabilities of the Turkish defense industry.