ISLAMABAD: A joint military exercise between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is underway at the National Counter-Terrorist Center in the mountain town of Pabbi in Punjab province, the Pakistan army's media wing said on Thursday.
As part of a longstanding defense cooperation deal between the two countries, last month Pakistan and Saudi Arabia launched a two-month-long joint military exercise in the Pakistani city of Multan.
“The two week long joint exercise is a series of ongoing bilateral military exercises between the Saudi Forces and Pakistan Army,” ISPR said in a statement.
AL-SAMSAAM exercises have been conducted on a biennial basis since 2004.
The Pakistan army said the joint exercise would focus on counter-terrorism operations, including cordon and search, combat patrols and dealing with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
“It provides participating troops an opportunity to benchmark their respective operational practices and procedures as well as learn from each other’s experiences,” the statement said.
In September last year, Saudi and Pakistani forces conducted the joint Naseem Al-Bahr 13 naval exercise in the Arabian Sea near Karachi, with Saudi F-15 aircraft participating in a missile firing drill for the first time.
