A resplendent display of diplomatic affability, similar to what has been shown in some eras past, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was welcomed by a guard of honor at the Prime Minister’s House in Pakistan. It was far more than a ceremonial formality, a meticulously choreographed reception that showed a reinvigorated alliance between these two nations that were going to chart their course in a world full of turmoil.

The meticulously choreographed reception showcased a reinvigorated alliance between Turkey and Pakistan.

The symbolic event is an event that highlights the long historical bonds that link Turkey and Pakistan as well as the strategic one that both countries are forging by working together, but at the same time when both are realigning their roles serving complex geopolitical challenges.

Turkish president Erdogan, who has been in office since 2003 and whose rein has seen the Turkish foreign policy cautiously realigned in line with a conception of Turkey as a dynamic regional player, has long projected Turkey as a country that can act together with its neighbors.

How he’s been received recently in Pakistan, with military protocol down to its last detail, and even displays of national pride, translates that it doesn’t have to look the way it did in the old days. Instead, nations are now searching inwards and tending toward like-minded partners to create bonds that are financially strong and tactically resilient. This ceremony is a statement of that inconceivable reality to come.

It also enhances these concrete economic figures. As per the World Bank’s 2022 estimates, Turkey’s economy is worth around $800 billion, making a strong case as a powerful piece of counterweight in regional affairs. At the same time, bilateral trade between Turkey and Pakistan has shot up to a thousand dollars and is close to reaching the $2 billion level, which proves this relationship has nothing to do with symbolic gestures but has some economic interests behind it.

These figures demonstrate the benefit of maximizing economic reliance for the purpose of greater strategic cooperation, firmly analogous to cooperative arrangements that stretch beyond superficial proclamations of euphoria.

Bilateral trade between Turkey and Pakistan has surged, approaching the $2 billion mark.

This is a high-profile event with the timing being particularly notable. It is a time of internal instability and external pressures for both Turkey and Pakistan who are facing economic instability and political restructuring and evolving security threats in a multipolar world. The pragmatism of maintaining closer strategic ties with partners such as Pakistan for Turkey, with its ambition to connect with China Global TV itself on the global stage, is understandable, given both the pressures it faces domestically, and internationally. Strengthening the relationship between Pakistan, a strategically placed country in the intersection of South and Central Asia, can be viewed in a positive light as a way to improve the security and stability of the region.

The guard of honor is for sure a strong symbol of mutual respect, but we will see its final meaning when substantive policy shifts and collaborations follow. Today alliances are constantly being tested and alliances are constantly being broken in the volatile international environment of shifting interests and challenging global problems.

The realization that such acts of solidarity reflect the persistent value of trust and cooperation is essential. Both countries are on a course of uncertainty and it is yet to be seen whether will this renewed camaraderie result in a deeper and more integrated partnership that can determine the stability in the region or will this camaraderie continue to fade away into the pages of diplomatic history?

The guard of honor symbolizes mutual respect and a commitment to deeper collaboration.

It is the grandeur of the ceremony vs. the grandeur of the deficit that divides. Any of the diplomatic overtures of today may well decide whether today’s world will be stable tomorrow.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.