ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Thursday discussed regional security and agreed to enhance bilateral defense cooperation, with a special focus on maritime security, during a high-level military meeting in Rawalpindi, the Pakistan army said.
General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Pakistan’s Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), met Vice Admiral Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Ghuraybi, Chief of the Naval Staff of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, at the Joint Staff Headquarters in Rawalpindi.
Thursday’s meeting comes amid a regional push by both countries to bolster maritime security cooperation, particularly as geopolitical tensions threaten trade routes through the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf.
“[They] discussed the evolving regional security dynamics both within Middle East & South Asia with particular focus on maritime security,” Pakistan’s military media wing, ISPR, said in a statement.
General Mirza underscored the “historical brotherly relations between Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” and “emphasized mutual resolve for enhancing existing bilateral defense cooperation,” according to the statement.
