RIYADH: Marshal Sohail Aman, the Pakistani air chief, has been given the prestigious King Abdul Aziz Medal of Excellence by the Chief of General Staff (Royal Saudi Armed Forces), Gen. Abdul Rahman bin Saleh Al-Bunyan.
The air chief received the award during his visit to the Kingdom, where he met Gen. Abdul Rahman in his office.
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) said in a press statement Friday that the medal had been awarded to the air chief in recognition of support provided by the PAF to the Royal Saudi Air Force in various domains.
During the meeting with Gen. Abdul Rahman, the air chief highlighted the PAF’s key role in counterterrorism operations in Pakistan.
The statement added that the Saudi Chief of General Staff lauded the PAF’s role in the success of operation Zarb-e-Azb, a major offensive that Pakistani armed forces launched on June 15, 2014.
The Pakistani Air Chief also met Major General Mohammed bin Saleh Al Otaibi, Commander of the Royal Saudi Air Force, at its operations center in Riyadh.
“The Air Chief expressed satisfaction on the unremitting mutual cooperation between the two air forces and offered assistance to his counterpart in the fields of military and aviation training,” said the statement.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy deep-rooted defense ties.
Earlier this week joint exercises of their naval forces began in the Arabian Sea near the port city of Karachi.
“The joint exercise is a regular feature of our defense cooperation with the Kingdom, to share expertise and exchange knowledge between the two naval forces,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal said on Friday during a weekly news briefing.