Pakistan’s navy chief discusses regional maritime security with Saudi Armed Forces leadership

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s navy chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf met the top leadership of the Royal Saudi Armed Forces in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss bilateral defense collaboration and regional maritime security, Pakistan Navy said in a statement.
During his visit, Ashraf met General Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili, the chief of general staff of the Saudi Armed Forces, at the Ministry of Defense. He also met the commander of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) Vice Admiral Fahd Bin Abdullah Al-Ghofaily at the RSNF headquarters, the statement said.
“Matters of bilateral naval collaboration and regional maritime security were discussed,” the Director-General of Public Relations Navy said of the meetings.
Al-Ghofaily appreciated Pakistan Navy’s role in supporting collaborative maritime security in the region and acknowledged the significance of strong bilateral defense collaboration, the DGPR Navy said.
Ashraf was presented with a guard of honor and briefed on the RSNF’s training setups and ongoing operations upon his arrival at the headquarters.
“Pakistan and Saudi Arabia historically enjoy brotherly relations and the visit of the naval chief will further augment and expand defense ties between the two countries in general and navies in particular,” the statement added.
On Sept. 20, Ruwaili visited Pakistan’s Naval Headquarters in Islamabad where he discussed matters of mutual interest, including regional security and bilateral cooperation, with Ashraf.