Iran, Pakistan to expand defense coop.
Iran, Pakistan to expand defense coop.

TEHRAN– In a meeting with Pakistani defense minister, Iranian defense minister said Iran and Pakistan enjoy having high capabilities in science, technology and defense industries. According to the Ministry of Defense Public Relations, Iranian Defense Brigadier General Amir Hatami and Pakistan’s Minister for Defense Production and Minister for Science and Technology Rana Tanveer Hussain held […]

TEHRAN– In a meeting with Pakistani defense minister, Iranian defense minister said Iran and Pakistan enjoy having high capabilities in science, technology and defense industries.

According to the Ministry of Defense Public Relations, Iranian Defense Brigadier General Amir Hatami and Pakistan’s Minister for Defense Production and Minister for Science and Technology Rana Tanveer Hussain held a meeting yesterday, during which a joint statement on defense cooperation between Iran and Pakistan was signed.

Leading a defense delegation, the Pakistani Minister arrived in Tehran Monday morning [January 15] upon his Iranian counterpart’s invitation.

Brigadier General Hatami said that he held positive and constructive talks with the Pakistani Minister on different regional issues, such as fight against terrorism and the need for countries from outside the region not to interfere in regional affairs. He went on to say that he hoped that cooperation between two countries’ armed forces would help strengthen security at the border areas between Iran and Pakistan.

He said that the two sides also discussed launching a joint committee on defense cooperation between Iran and Pakistan. He said that the joint statement signed on Wednesday symbolized the two countries’ political will to increase bilateral defense cooperation which would ensure the national interests of both countries.

He said that the exchange of visits between two countries’ military and defense officials were important as the visits facilitated expansion of bilateral relations in all sectors. He added that the two countries have increased their consultations on bilateral defense and military relations in recent months.

For his part, the Pakistani Minister noted that Pakistan is keenly interested in expanding defense and military cooperation with Iran, as the two countries not only share a common border but also share religious values and cultural heritages.

He said, “In this round of talks with the Islamic Republic of Iran we have agreed to sign a memorandum on the development of defense, military and technical cooperation.”
He stressed that Wednesday’s joint statement showed that Pakistan has great interest in expanding its defense cooperation with Iran and finding a new mechanism for the establishing a joint defense cooperation commission with Iran.

He then extended official invitation to Brigadier General Hatami to visit Pakistan.