ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad Mirza and Maldivian leaders agreed to step up military cooperation amid shifting regional and global security dynamics, the Pakistan military said on Friday.

The development came during Mirza’s official visit to the Maldives, where he met President Mohamed Muizzu, Defense Minister Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon and Chief of Defense Forces Major General Ibrahim Hilmy.

The two countries have deepened military cooperation this year, with Hilmy calling on Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir in February to discuss bilateral defense cooperation and regional security dynamics.

“Both sides held discussions on the evolving global and regional security environment and issues of mutual interest including bilateral defense and security cooperation,” the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement.

“They also considered avenues to further enhance military-to-military engagements between the two countries and reaffirmed their shared commitment to further strengthening the partnership.”

The Maldivian side lauded the professionalism of Pakistan’s armed forces, the statement added, and acknowledged their sacrifices in the fight against militancy.

Pakistan and the Maldives share long-standing diplomatic ties dating back to July 1966, rooted in Islamic brotherhood and mutual participation in forums like the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

Mirza, the only four-star general in the Pakistan Army, regularly visits friendly countries to strengthen defense and security ties.

In July this year, he visited Egypt for the third round of defense and security talks between the two nations.