COAS Gen Bajwa, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince discuss bilateral defence cooperation

ABU DHABI: Pakistan Army chief on Sunday met with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince here at the Presidential Palace, Geo News reported, citing the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

During his tour of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — the third one within 15 months — Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa held a meeting with Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

On his visit to Abu Dhabi "to explore paths of reinforcing collaboration across the defence domain", the COAS and the crown prince exchanged Ramazan greetings alongside "bests wishes for their two peoples", the Emirates News Agency said.

Gen Bajwa expressed gratitude to Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for the humanitarian assistance the UAE provides to Pakistanis living there and the highly-valued development projects implemented in Pakistan in line with the UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan's directives, the Emirates' official news agency added.

The two dignitaries discussed bilateral defence cooperation, as well as matters of mutual interest and regional issues, the ISPR statement said. They exchanged views on the regional and international developments as well.

Speaking to Geo News, some diplomats expressed hope that Gen Bajwa's visit would help strengthen the UAE-Pakistan linkages.

The UAE and Pakistan recently signed a $200-million cooperation agreement to execute Phase III of the UAE Pakistan Assistance Program (UAE PAP), which aims to provide humanitarian assistance to Pakistanis and support their development for a better future.

Among the attendees was Lieutenant General Naveed Mukhtar, the incumbent director-general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (DG ISI), as well.

"The meeting was [also] attended by Lt. General Hamad Mohammed Thani Al Rumaithi, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, and Ali bin Hammad Al Shamsi, Deputy Secretary General of the Supreme Council for National Security," it added.

—Additional reporting by Sibt-e-Arif