ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday met his Italian and Albanian counterparts to discuss bilateral cooperation and regional and global developments on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, the Pakistani embassy in Germany said.

The high-powered Munich meeting of government leaders, diplomats, defense and intelligence chiefs comes shortly before Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine is set to enter its fifth gruelling year.

Bruised by President Donald Trump’s designs on Greenland and his often hostile comments about America’s traditional bedrock allies, European leaders at the conference have pledged to shoulder more of the burden of shared defenses.

Asif met his Italian counterpart Guido Crosetto during the conference, running from Feb. 13 till Feb. 15, with both sides agreeing to enhance bilateral ties, according to the Pakistani embassy.

“Asif met the Defense Minister of Republic of Albania, Mr. Pirro Vengu, on the sidelines of the 62nd Munich Security Conference,” the Pakistani embassy said on X.