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Thursday May 02, 2024

Islamabad, Ankara, Riyadh mull over cooperation in defence sector

Three nations reiterate strategic intent to increase scope and pace of trilateral cooperation in pursuit of common goals

By Web Desk
January 09, 2024
Pakistan, KSA and Turkiye Trilateral Defence Collaboration officials are meeting on January 8, 2024, at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. — ISPR
Pakistan, KSA and Turkiye Trilateral Defence Collaboration officials are meeting on January 8, 2024, at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. — ISPR

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia mulled over prospects of trilateral cooperation in the defence sector, particularly defence equipment technologies including research and development (R&D), the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Tuesday.

As per the military’s media wing, the said issue came under discussion in the second meeting of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye Trilateral Defence Collaboration at Rawalpindi’s General Headquarters (GHQ).

“The three sides reaffirmed the importance of combining the intellectual, technical, financial and human resources of the three friendly nations towards the achievement of shared objectives and attainment of self-sufficiency in the defence domain,” the ISPR added.

Acknowledging the historical brotherly relations, the three sides reiterated the strategic intent to increase the scope of trilateral cooperation and the need to enhance the pace of collaboration in pursuit of common goals, the military's media wing said.

The three sides, as per the ISPR, agreed to convene the next meeting on Trilateral Defence Industrial Collaboration during World Defence Show in Riyadh in February.

Pakistan, KSA express desire to enhance defence ties

Meanwhile, the third meeting of the Pakistan-KSA Defence Collaboration was also held at the GHQ, Rawalpindi a day earlier.

The ISPR said the forum underscored the significance of historical relations between the two brotherly states. Participants discussed issues of bilateral interest and the evolving security environment, it added.

The two sides deliberated upon rapid advancements in military technologies and the need for defence industrial cooperation between the two states towards the fulfilment of shared objectives, the media wing said.

It said both sides reaffirmed their desire to enhance defence cooperation in all domains to achieve self-sufficiency in the field of defence production.

The forum reiterated the need to explore further avenues for defence cooperation and enhance the pace of collaboration, it added.