Pakistan attaches great importance to furthering bilateral defence cooperation with Russia and China and believes that these countries will develop meaningful and long-term strategic relationships through enhanced cooperation, says Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) Chairman General Nadeem Raza.
The JCSC chairman is in Russia to witness the Exercise Peace Mission, 2021, in the ambit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) read on Saturday.
General Nadeem also attended a meeting of the chiefs of general staff of the armed forces of SCO member states, where the forum discussed the international and regional geo-political environment with an emphasis on the situation in Afghanistan. The activities of transnational terrorist organisations in various regions of the world were also discussed.
Addressing the forum, the JCSC chairman stated that Pakistan will continue to work with the SCO to advance the shared objectives of peace, progress and stability in the region, and beyond, the ISPR statement quoted him as saying.
General Nadeem also highlighted the “unparalleled contributions” of the Pakistan armed forces towards global peace and sacrifices in the war against terrorism.
“Peace in Afghanistan is a collective responsibility and [the] complete region will be its biggest beneficiary,” he said.
On the sidelines, the JCSC chairman also had bilateral engagements with Russian Federation Chief of General Staff General Valery V. Gerasimov and PLA China Chief of Joint Staff General Li Zuocheng.
The closing ceremony of the Exercise Peace Mission, 2021, was held at the Donguz training area in Orenburg Region, Russia.
Colonel General Alexander Lapin, Commander of Central Military district Russia, was the chief guest on the occasion. Troops from all SCO member states participated in the exercises and shared each other’s experiences.
