BEIJING – China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan under a multilateralframework will carry out joint exercise and training on thecounter-terrorism focussing on real combat experiences this year, Spokesmanof Chinese Defence Ministry, Senior Colonel Wu Qin said on Thursday.

“We will organize several joint exercises and training focusing on realcombat experiences and carry out cooperation within multilateral frameworksuch as China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan cooperation andcoordination on joint counter-terrorism as well as Shanghai CoordinationCooperation (SCO) in joint efforts to further promote and press for fruitsout of substantial cooperation between the two sides in various areas,” hesaid while responding to a question asked by APP Correspondent during amonthly press briefing held here.

The spokesman informed that this year, the Chinese and Pakistani armedforces will maintain the good momentum of high-level exchange and activelycarry out mechanized exchanges between the services and institutions.About the meeting between Defence Minister Engr Khurram Dastgir and hisChinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe on the sidelines of the Defence Ministersmeeting, he said that he noticed that the defence ministers of twocountries met during the just concluded defence ministers meeting of SCOmember-states.

He said both the ministers exchanged views in-depth and reached a broadconsensus on the bilateral and military to military relations between thetwo sides, regional security situation and other issues of mutual concerns.

“As this well known to the world, China and Pakistan are reliableneighbours, brothers, tested by the events of the international community,trusted friends of each other and partners seeking common development,” headded.On the outcome of Defence Ministers meeting of the SCO, he said, it wasfirst meeting after the inclusion of Pakistan and India as full members inthe organization.Wu Qian said that Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National DefenseGeneral Wei Fenghe presided over the meeting and delivered a keynote speech.

Leaders of the defence ministries and militaries of SCO member statesincluding Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan andUzbekistan, as well as representatives of the SCO Secretariat and theExecutive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of the SCOattended the meeting. The Belarusian Defense Minister attended the meetingas a special guest.He said the topic for the summit was building a community with a sharedfuture for mankind while seeking development through innovation andcooperation, as General Wei Fenghe pointed out during his speech.Chinese President Xi Jinping, along with leaders from other countries, hasput cooperation in security as the top priority, which has, in turn, madethe SCO an important force for maintaining world peace and stability.

Gen.Wei Fenghe said that we must earnestly implement the consensus reachedby the heads of various states and constantly improve the level of defenceand security cooperation.The Chinese Defence Minister also pointed out that building a communitywith a shared future for mankind is China’s wisdom and plan that focuses onsolving human development issues and improving the global governanceenvironment.As the largest comprehensive regional organization in the world today, wemust establish the concept of a shared future for mankind and work hard tobuild shared security for all.

The “Shanghai Spirit” should be well-preserved, while pragmatic cooperationis strengthened in areas such as high-level exchanges, joint militarydrills, and education, among others.Wei said that we need to establish a united front in the fight againstterrorism and jointly safeguard peace in the region and the world.

The spokesman said during the conference, defence leaders summed up theresults of cooperation since the 2017 meeting, stressing that the SCOcountries should enhance cooperation between defence departments and armedforces to deal with rising threats and challenges in internationalsocieties.The Defence Ministers of SCO Countries Joint Communique was signed at theconference, while the defence minister from Uzbekistan signed acollaboration agreement with other SCO country’s defence ministries.Medals of strengthening friendship and cooperation among SCO member stateswere awarded during the conference.

Wei met with defence ministers of Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan and India to exchange views on deepening military exchange andcooperation, and they participated in the opening ceremony of the 5th“Fanfare for Peace” military music festival, he added. – APP