Islamabad: Pakistan and Qatar have reaffirmed the commitment to further strengthen their strategic partnership in diverse fields, particularly defence and security. This development emerged during a meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs of Qatar, Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan bin Ali Al Thani, on the sidelines of the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha.

According to Radio Pakistan, the President underscored the close and historic ties between Pakistan and Qatar and expressed satisfaction over the existing collaboration between the armed forces of the two countries in training, capacity building, and defence production. He emphasized the importance of expanding cooperation in joint exercises, defence technology, and exchange of expertise, noting that such initiatives will further enhance regional peace and stability.

The Qatari Deputy Prime Minister commended the professionalism of the Pakistan Armed Forces and reaffirmed his country’s commitment to deepening defence relations with Pakistan. He reiterated Qatar’s interest in joint defence production and collaborative defence projects, expressing readiness to expand such initiatives in the future.

The Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs assured Qatar’s support for facilitating peace and stability in the Afghan conflict.