The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Saudi Ministry of Defense Developing Program Dr. Samir bin Abdulaziz Al-Tibayeb, separatly met in Rawalpindi, during an official visit to Islamabad, with Pakistan’s Minister of Defense Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan Army General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
During the two meetings, bilateral cooperation relations and coordination in the field of experience exchanges between the two friendly countries to support the developing process and transformation in defense fields and ways of promoting them in a way that serves the mutual interests were discussed.
The meetings also reviewed a number of issues of common interest to the two countries, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s armed forces enjoy strong relations with one another, with many Saudi officers having graduated from Pakistan’s military, air force and naval academies. The two countries also enjoy deep-rooted brotherly ties, with over 2.5 million Pakistani expats living in the kingdom, ISPR said.
In October 2021, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s naval forces conducted the joint Naseem Al-Bahr 13 exercise in the Arabian Sea near Karachi. The Saudi F-15 aircraft participated in a missile-firing drill for the first time during that exercise.
“Pakistan values its historical and brotherly relations with the Kingdom. Pakistan also acknowledges Riyadh’s unique place in the Islamic world,” General Bajwa stressed.
“The visiting dignitary acknowledged the defense potential of Pakistan and expressed the desire to enhance collaboration in defense and security sectors,” the ISPR statement read.
The Saudi official also expressed his grief over the devastation caused by the ongoing floods in Pakistan.
“COAS (Chief of Army Staff) thanked the visiting guests for his efforts to strengthen bonds between the two brotherly countries,” the ISPR statement concluded.
Pakistan has been seeking to explore non-conventional areas of bilateral cooperation with Saudi Arabia, with a particular focus on promoting economic, trade and investment ties, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who visited the Kingdom in April, told Arab News at the time.
