Pakistan To Consider Making Multinational Naval Drills AMAN Annual - President

Pakistan to Consider Making Multinational Naval Drills AMAN Annual - President

Pakistan is open to an idea of turning the biennial Multinational Naval Exercise AMAN into an annual event, President Arif Alvi told journalists on Tuesday on the sidelines of the drills near the port of Karachi

KARACHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th February, 2021) Pakistan is open to an idea of turning the biennial Multinational Naval Exercise AMAN into an annual event, President Arif Alvi told journalists on Tuesday on the sidelines of the drills near the port of Karachi.

Navies of over 40 countries, including Russia, China, NATO nations, as well as ASEAN and African Union member states are taking part in the AMAN-21 drills in the Arabian Sea from February 11-16.

"If there is a possibility... I am sure that Pakistan Navy and the government of Pakistan will rethink and will have it every year. Because the Covid has shown, for example, that the cooperation between countries is important," the president said in response to a question from Sputnik.

He underlined that there were so many areas where multinational cooperation was needed, including the blue economy - a concept used to describe sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth and improved livelihoods.

Alvi praised the Pakistani navy for organizing the drills and noted that he is "glad about Russia's participation."