Saudi minister calls on Army chief

The dignitaries also discussed defence collaboration and training exchanges between the two countries

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s Assistant Defence Minister for Military Affairs on Thursday met Army Chief General Raheel Sharif in Rawalpindi to discuss enhanced defence and security cooperation between the two countries.

During the meeting, matters related to regional security and bilateral defence collaboration including training exchanges came under discussion.



During the meeting with Army Chief General Raheel, Muhammad Bin Abdullah Al Ayish discussed regional security and bilateral defence cooperation including training exchanges, said Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement. The military’s media wing, however, did not provide further details.

The meeting came against the backdrop of recent announcement by Riyadh to form a 34-nation coalition of Islamic countries on counter-terrorism.



Pakistan after initial confusion confirmed that it was part of the alliance but said the scope of its participation had yet to be decided.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1^st, 2016.