KARACHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th February, 2021) Pakistan is pleased that naval crews, delegations and observers from a greater number of countries arrived in Pakistan's port city of Karachi to take part in harbor and sea activities of the Multinational Naval Exercise AMAN 2021 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the director general of public relations at the Pakistan Naval Headquarters, Rashid Nazir Choudhary, told Sputnik on Thursday.
"We are very proud that, even during the pandemic, when people tend to stay more close to their own homes, we still managed to convince the people to come to Pakistan. The participation grows in a steady projectory. Yesterday, we found out that the list of participating states expanded to include 46 countries as the Philippines joined the list," Choudhary said.
The drills are divided into the harbor and sea phases that aim to enhance coordination and mutual understanding between naval forces of participating countries. Harbor activities will include seminars, discussions, demonstrations and multilateral sessions. The naval exercises will include search and rescue operations, as well as tactical maneuvers on combating piracy and counterterrorism.
"As of today, we have 46 countries participating and over 90 observers are coming. Besides the ships there will be special operation forces, marines' team and aircraft," the official said.
The naval drills organized by Islamabad are held every two years since 2007.
