Nigerian, Egyptian Ministers Call On Khawaja Asif

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Nov, 2016 ) : Nigerian Defence Minister Mansur Muhammad Dan Ali and Egyptian Minister for Military Production Gen (Retd.) Muhammad Saeed Al-Assar Tuesday held separate meetings with Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif at the Expo Centre Karachi, the venue of 9th international defence exhibition 'IDEAS-2016.' During a meeting with the Nigerian Defence Minister, who called on him along with other military officials, Khawaja Asif said Pakistan considered Nigeria a close, friendly and important country in the region, a press release issued here said.

He conveyed Pakistan's desire to enhance relations in all fields of bilateral interest, adding that it wanted to establish meaningful defence ties with Nigeria. Khawaja Asif underlined the need "to fully activate the existing bilateral MoU signed in military and defence field to achieve the goal of meaningful cooperation." The both sides emphasized on the need to exchange military delegations between the two countries.

Khawaja Asif appreciated the participation of Nigerian Navy in AMAN exercises and offered training support for Nigerian navy in Pakistan.

He thanked the Nigerian counterpart for participating in the IDEAS 2016.

Meanwhile, Egyptian Minister for Military Production Gen (Retd) Muhammad Saeed Al-Assar Minister for Military Production Arab Republic of Egypt called on Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif at the Expo Center.

Terming Egypt important Muslim country in the region, Khawaja Asif stressed for further expanding existing bilateral ties in diverse fields. He highlighted importance of frequent exchange of military delegations between the two countries, saying that it would help explore new avenues of mutual cooperation and collaboration.

He offered training for Egyptian armed forces personnel at various training institutions of Armed Forces of Pakistan. Both the sides expressed the desire to exchange technical delegations in order to explore the areas of joint production. Khawaja Asif thanked the Egyptian delegates for their participation in the IDEAS 2016.