Foreign dignitaries meet Vice Chief of Naval Staff

ISLAMABAD: In tandem with various activities on the second day of IDEAS 2018, various dignitaries from Italy, Jordan, Poland, Sri Lanka and Turkey called on Vice Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Kaleem Shaukat.

Prominent amongst the visiting dignitaries were Commander Royal Jordanian Naval Forces Brigadier General Ibrahim Salman Al Naimat, Deputy Director & Secretary General of Defence & National Armament Italy Admiral Dario Giacomin, DG Admin Sri Lankan Navy Rear Admiral KG Paul, Director Armament Poland Army Brig General Karlo Dymonowski, Vice President Defence Industries (Turkey) Murat Seker and Vice President M/S Leonardo (Italy) Maurizio Facchin. During the meetings, matters related to defence collaboration including joint development of platforms, equipment and sensors, training exchange programmes in diverse fields and common maritime challenges were discussed.

As a capstone activity in IDEAS-2018, National Centre for Maritime Policy Research (NCMPR) Karachi chapter of National Institute of Maritime Affairs (NIMA) under the auspices of Pakistan Navy organised a Maritime Conference on the topic “Maritime Security Dynamics and Requirement of Innovative Solutions for Indian Ocean Region”. Vice Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Kaleem Shaukat graced the occasion as the chief guest and Brigadier General Ibrahim Salman Al Naimat, Commander of Royal Jordanian Naval Forces as the guest of honour in the conference. Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi also participated in the conference.

During the conference, apart from prominent domestic speakers, eminent foreign scholars also dwelled upon myriad of complex military and maritime related challenges and their solutions. Vice Chief of Naval Staff while highlighting the significance of Indian Ocean Region in prevailing milieu, dilated upon the myriad of maritime security challenges being faced by the littoral states.

He emphasised that besides, collaboration and information sharing with partner nations, the demands of effective maritime domain awareness also require capability enhancement through technological innovations.

“Only by utilising latest technological solutions coupled with apt tactics, we can address evolving maritime security challenges,” he said. While highlighting the role of Pakistan Navy in maritime security efforts, Vice Chief of Naval Staff expressed that Pakistan Navy has remained an active contributor in multinational coalition efforts. Recently, it has also embarked upon a strategic initiative of Regional Maritime Security Patrol to further the objective of regional maritime security.