Pak naval chief meets China’s national defence minister

ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi who is on an official visit to China called on China’s Minister of National Defence and State Councilor General Wei Fenghe at Beijing and attended International Fleet Review at Qingdao.

During the meeting, matters related to maritime security and bilateral cooperation were discussed.

Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi highlighted that close relationships between the peoples and the Armed Forces of the two countries are time-tested and based on mutual respect and trust.

The naval chief also thanked the minister for whole hearted participation of PLA (Navy) with Ships and Special Forces/ Marine Teams in Multinational Naval Exercise AMAN-19 which was hosted by Pakistan Navy at Karachi.

The defence minister highly appreciated the successful conduct of Exercise AMAN-19. General Wei Fenghe termed Pakistan as China’s all weather strategic partner. On CPEC which is a vital part of Belt & Road Initiative, both sides expressed their full confidence and termed it as a project aimed at prosperity and economic empowerment of people of the region and beyond. Both the dignitaries also agreed on further enhancing the bilateral cooperation in the domains of military collaboration.

During the visit, the naval chief also attended ‘International Fleet Review’ held as a part of 70th anniversary celebrations of the founding of PLA (Navy). The multinational naval event, being held at the coastal city of Qingdao, also includes high level symposium, military band performances and cultural and sports exchanges. Current visit of chief of the naval staff would greatly augment the bilateral cooperation between both the countries in general and navies in particular.