ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa discussed defense cooperation with Qatar Emiri Land Forces commander Maj. Gen. Saeed Hussain Al-Khayarin on Wednesday, the Pakistani military said.
Al-Khayarin visited Bajwa at the Pakistani armed forces headquarters in Rawalpindi a day after Pakistan’s defense production Zobaida Jalal offered military training to Qatari armed forces.
“During the meeting, matters of mutual & professional interest, regional security situation including Afghan Peace Process and enhanced bilateral defense & security cooperation were discussed,” the Pakistani military media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement, adding that Al-Khayarin expressed appreciation of Pakistan’s “sincere efforts for regional peace.”
On Tuesday, Defense Production Minister Zobaida Jalal told the Qatari envoy to Pakistan, Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Faisal Al-Thani, that her country’s military institutions were open to soldiers belonging to the Arab state.
Jalal applauded diplomatic relations between the two countries, calling Qatar a “trustworthy friend” of Pakistan, the Ministry of Defense Production said in a statement.
Last month, the two countries signed a 10-year Liquefied Natural Gas supply contract at the “lowest-ever publicly disclosed price under a long-term contract in the world.”
Qatar Consul General in Karachi Mishal Al-Ansari also told the local business community earlier this week that his country’s administration was planning to increase employment opportunities for Pakistani nationals in the coming years.
He said the two countries were working on several joint ventures in the area of defense production and collaborating in agricultural and industrial sectors.
The Qatari ambassador also promised full cooperation with Pakistan during his interaction with the minister for defense production, saying his country would strive to broaden and deepen its relations with the South Asian country.