ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi held talks with Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Interior Minister Dr. Nasser bin Abdulaziz Al-Dawood in Islamabad and agreed to enforce the prisoners swap accord and strengthen security cooperation.
According to state-run Radio Pakistan, both countries have agreed to take necessary steps towards declaring Islamabad and Riyadh as twin cities.
During the meeting, they also discussed the deployments of regular police and paramilitary forces as well as the training of both countries’ personnel within the context of a bilateral law enforcement agreement.
Military and security collaboration is one of the underlying principles of the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, involving not only the recent deployment of troops but also conducting of military operations and training programmes on a regular basis to enhance defence capabilities.
Pakistan’s is also part of an Islamic Military Alliance seen as spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, with the objective of fighting terrorism and ensuring global peace.
Since the 1970s, Pakistani troops have been based in Saudi Arabia to protect the Kingdom while the training of Saudi armed forces and pilots has been carried out by Pakistan.
As stated in a press release by the Interior Ministry of Pakistan, the talks were dedicated to the domestic transfer of police and paramilitary forces, as well as the planning of new joint training initiatives.
Al-Dawood also met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif the day before, who was pleased with the status of business deals between both sides.
In October, 27 MoUs worth $2.2 billion were signed during Saudi Arabia’s investment minister’s visit to Islamabad.
This was after Sharif’s visit to Riyadh, where he was updated that the total number of agreements had gone up to 34 with a cumulative value of $2.8 billion.
