IANS, Islamabad: Visiting Saudi naval forces commander Vice Admiral Fahd bin Abdullah bin Muhammad Al-Saudi met his Pakistani counterpart Admiral Shahid Karimullah Tuesday for talks on expanding cooperation, an official said.
“The talks focused on enhancing cooperation in tactics, maritime security, military training, education and joint naval drills,” a navy spokesman told DPA after the meeting.
Vice Admiral Fahd, who arrived here Monday evening on an official visit, was also to meet Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and armed forces chiefs.
His itinerary includes visit to different naval installations inthe port city of Karachi.
“The Saudi commander was given a detailed briefing on the Pakistan navy's organizational structure, its policy of fleet modernisation and self-reliance in domestic manufacturing of surface and subsurface ships,” said the spokesman.
Pakistani and Saudi Arabian armed forces enjoy close cooperation in the fields of military education, training and joint drills.
Saudi Arabia is among several countries from the Middle Eastern and the Gulf region that have shown keen interest in Pakistan's domestically manufactured small submarines, known as “midgets”.
The Saudi air force is one of the potential buyers of a lightweight trainer aircraft, the Super Mushshak or Cessna, being manufactured by the country's premier aeronautical complex, some 75 km south of here.
The Saudi Arabian army also plans to purchase Pakistan's state-of-the-art main battle tank, the MBT-Al-Khalid, and is presently conducting tests and trials.
Fahd also met President General Pervez Musharraf, who decorated him with a military award Nishan-i-Imtiaz for his ” prominent role in expanding the area of cooperation between the Naval Forces”.
He also held talks with state minister for defence Zahid Hamid in the garrison town of Rawalpindi.
The two officials underscored the need of continued interaction between Pakistani and Saudi navies through joint drills conducted annually to up-date concepts of modern naval warfare and tactics.
