Pakistan persistently contributing to regional peace, stability: CNS

KARACHI: Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi visited foreign ships of navies participating in the 7th Multinational Naval Exercise AMAN-21.

Upon his arrival on board the foreign visiting ships, the Naval chief was warmly welcomed by senior officers and commanding officers and was presented a guard of honour by the smartly dressed-out contingents.

The Naval chief visited the Indonesian Navy Ship KRI BUNG TUMO, Russian Navy Ship ADMIRAL GRIGOROVICH and Sri Lankan Navy Ship GAJABAHU, amongst the platforms participating in the Multinational Naval Exercise AMAN-21.

The CNS interacted with senior officers and commanding officers and was briefed on board the ships.

During interactions, the CNS highlighted that Pakistan is a responsible maritime state and persistently contributing to peace and stability in the region.

The AMAN Exercise demonstrates Pakistan’s commitment to peace, reinforce regional maritime security and enhance interoperability between regional and extra regional navies.

CNS Admiral Niazi emphasised that the camaraderie generated during interactions in the multinational naval drills, will grow in future and shall bring us closer to the mutual goal of peace and prosperity and appreciated their participation in AMAN Exercise to fulfill common resolve of “Together for Peace”.

The senior officers and commanding officers of the respective ships highly acknowledged the diligent efforts of the Pakistan Navy to bring global navies towards shared commitment of maritime peace, stability and lawful order at sea.

Earlier, the three-day International Maritime Conference (IMC-21) organised by the National Institute of Maritime Affairs on the theme of ‘Development of Blue Economy under a Secure and Sustainable Environment: A Shared Future for Western Indian Ocean Region’ was kicked off.

President Dr Arif Alvi was the chief guest at the opening session. On the occasion, CNS Admiral Niazi highlighted Pakistan Navy’s efforts for promoting maritime awareness and the blue economy through a variety of initiatives and in enhancing regional maritime security through its contributions in international and regional collaborative security mechanisms.

The western Indian Ocean is rich in hydrocarbons, minerals and fishing and other resources but due to climate change the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is toxifying the seas pushing the fish towards extinction.

In order to benefit from the tremendous potential of the blue economy, he highlighted the need to team up to harness the territorial waters, contiguous zone, Exclusive Economic Zone and the continental shelf.

He also referred to the extensive surveys of the ocean resources conducted by the Pakistan Navy and others from 2010 to 2019 and found that besides other diverse resources, potentially huge oil and gas reserves are available in the Delta region waiting to be harnessed. Their drilling could likely begin after the third survey to be conducted soon, he said.

The other sessions of the International Maritime Conference were presided over by President Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Sardar Masood Khan, who delivered the keynote address, followed by former Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General (retd) Ehsanul Haq and Leader of the House in Senate, Senator Sherry Rehman who expressed her thoughts on the geo-strategic environment in Indian Ocean Region - Opportunities for Developing Countries.

Besides, Commander US Naval Forces Central Command, Vice Admiral Samuel Paparo also delivered his keynote online address on enhancing regional maritime security in the Western Indian Ocean through effective mechanism.

Minister for Defence Pervez Khan Khattak also presided over the third session of the conference as the chief guest besides several other scholars and officials.-PR