President Zardari discusses bilateral ties with Turkey's Erdogan on phone call

• Presidents discuss matters of mutual interest during call. 
• Zardari facilitates Erdoğan on the forthcoming Eid-ul-Fitr.
• Expresses best wishes for Erdoğan and people of Turkey. 

President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday discussed the strengthening of bilateral ties with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, during a phone call. 

According to a statement issued on X, formerly Twitter, President Zardari and Turkish President Erdogan spoke over the phone and discussed matters of mutual interest. 

"The two called for further strengthening bilateral relations in various fields," the statement added. 

During their phone call, President Zardari felicitated the Turkish president on the forthcoming Eid-ul-Fitr — which is expected to fall on April 10 (Wednesday). 

Moreover, the head of state also extended an invitation to Erdogan, inviting him to visit Pakistan. He also expressed his best wishes for the president of Turkey and its people.

On March 10, Zardari took oath as country's head of state for the second time after being elected as the 14th president with a big margin.

Zardari, who was the joint candidate of the ruling alliance, was elected as the country’s president after he defeated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) candidate Mahmood Khan Achakzai by a huge margin.

The president secured 411 electoral votes in parliament and all four provincial assemblies with the backing of allied parties — mainly Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P).

Zardari earlier served as the 11th president of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013 and has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since August 2018.