Turkey and Pakistan reaffirmed the resolve to further strengthen defensecooperation after a two-day meeting among the high-level military officialsof the two countries on Thursday.
The 15th round of Pakistan-Turkey High-Level Military Dialogue Group (HLMDG) decided that Turkey and Pakistan would work together to enhance defensecooperation, focusing on security and counter-terrorism, a statement byPakistan’s Defense Ministry said.
General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, deputy chief of the Turkish General Staff,led the Turkish delegation, while Lt. Gen. (retired) Mian Muhammad HilalHussain, the secretary of defense, led the Pakistan delegation during thetalks.
“During the HLMDG meeting, both delegations discussed all avenues ofcooperation in military training, education, counter-terrorism, and defenseindustry cooperation including joint production and procurement. Both sidesshared perspectives on prevailing regional environment including the MiddleEast, South Asia, and Afghanistan,” the statement said.
It added that the meeting also took stock of the progress that has beenmade since the last HLMDG meeting held in Pakistan in April last year.
“The HLMDG is the highest level of institutional mechanism between Pakistanand Turkey, mandated to charter policies and action plans to promote tiesin the defense field. The next session of Pakistan-Turkey HLMDG meetingwill be held in Pakistan in 2021,” it said.
Read Top Stories
Lt. Gen. Hussain had separately called National Defense Minister of TurkeyHulusi Akar, Turkish General Staff Chief General Yasar Guler, Head ofPresidency of Turkish Defense Industries Prof. Dr. Ismail Demir, and CEO ofTurkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) Dr. Temil Kotil.
The statement said that the Pakistan delegation had also visited defenseindustry firms including Baykar (UAV OEM), ASELSAN, HAVELSAN, and TAI.
Source:link
