President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan congratulated Pakistan's newly elected President Asif Ali Zardari in a phone call on Tuesday.

According to a statement made by the Presidency's Directorate of Communications, Erdoğan told Zardari that he expects bilateral relations between the two countries to be strengthened in all fields.

Erdoğan also condemned the terrorist attack that took place during Pakistan's general elections, as he said Türkiye will continue to stand in solidarity with Pakistan in its fight against terrorism.

Zardari, the widower of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was elected as the country's president by lawmakers on Sunday.

Türkiye and Pakistan enjoy favorable relations. The High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC) is the primary platform at the leadership level, which has been instrumental in further cementing bilateral relations.

Ankara and Islamabad have strengthened bilateral defense and security cooperation in recent years. In October 2018, the Pakistan Navy commissioned a 17,000-ton fleet tanker built in collaboration with a Turkish defense company in the southern port city of Karachi.

It was the largest warship ever constructed at the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works. The project was completed in collaboration with the Turkish defense contractor STM.

In July 2018, Ankara won a multibillion-dollar tender to supply four corvettes to the Pakistan Navy, in what was dubbed as the largest-ever export deal in the Turkish defense industry's history by then-Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli.