The Chief-of-Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri and Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa in a meeting in Tehran underlined the need to expand defense and military cooperation between the two countries.
During the meeting in the Iranian capital, the top Iranian and Pakistani Generals underlined the need for enhanced security and defense cooperation between Tehran and Islamabad, Fars News Agency (FNA) reported.
General Javed Bajwa, heading a high-ranking military delegation has traveled to Tehran at the invitation of General Baqeri.
The two army chiefs stressed the need for expansion of defense and security relations aimed at resolving common issues, particularly in identifying and combating factors that cause the spread of terrorist activities along Iran and Pakistan’s shared borders.
Making optimal use of existing capacities in various international and regional communities, using the two countries’ defense and political potentials to help settle regional conflicts, and joint cooperation between the two sides free of foreign intervention were also among the topics of discussion in the Monday meeting.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif traveled to Pakistan in May and the countries agreed to increase cooperation towards boosting security in their border areas by setting up a joint security committee.
The visit at the head of a high-ranking political, military, law enforcement, and security delegation came a month after 10 Iranian border guards were killed and two others injured in an ambush near the town of Mirjaveh in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan.
Meanwhile, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami and his Iraqi counterpart Irfan al-Hayali in a phone conversation conferred on the latest developments in the region, stressing further cooperation to fully annihilate the terrorists.
During the phone talk, General Hatami felicitated the Iraqi Defense Minister and people on the liberation of al-Qaem city and other field victories against ISIL, and expressed the hope that security would soon prevail in the entire Iraq.
He also underscored Iran’s preparedness to help reconstruction efforts in Iraq and implement the agreements signed by the two sides.
Al-Hayali, for his part, voiced hope for further development of defense cooperation between Tehran and Baghdad, appreciating Iran for its assistance to Iraq in the establishment of security and stability in the Arab country and the region.
In a relevant development, General Hatami and his Syrian counterpart General Fahad Jassim al-Freij in a phone conversation underlined continued cooperation and increased efforts to fight ISIL.
