The offer was extended by Ali Amin Gandapur, minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, in a meeting with Gokhan Umut, head of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in Pakistan, according to the state-run Radio Pakistan.

Around two million tourists visit these picturesque Gilgit-Baltistan areas every year, Gandapur told Umut, emphasising the immense opportunities for Turkish and other foreign investors in the region’s tourism sector.

He said the government is working to set up economic zones in Gilgit-Baltistan, which will open new avenues for industrial development in the region.

The economic zones are part of the multibillion-dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor, an extensive network of roads, railways, and pipelines that aims to connect China’s strategically important northwestern Xinjiang province to the port of Gwadar in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province.

The mountainous region of Gilgit-Baltistan, formerly known as the Northern Areas, borders China and is a gateway for the economic corridor.