The First Deputy Minister of Defense – Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijan Army, Colonel General Karim Valiyev, who is on an official visit to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, visited the Defense Chamber of the Parliament House and met with the Federal Minister for Defence of Pakistan, Mr Khawaja Muhammad Asif.

Axar.az reports that welcoming the guests, the Pakistani Federal Minister for Defence pointed out that the military relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan are at a high level. The Minister mentioned that Pakistan recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and attaches special importance to the expansion of military relations with this country.

The Minister noted that both countries provide mutual support to each other on all issues including a bilateral basis and the framework of international organizations. He pointed out that the situation and new challenges in the regions where Azerbaijan and Pakistan are located necessitate the strengthening of military cooperation between the two countries.

Mr Khawaja Muhammad Asif emphasized the importance of increasing the combat capability of the armies of both countries, experiencing exchange in this field, as well as further developing the achieved results.

The Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijan Army expressed his gratitude for the warm reception and conveyed the greetings of the Azerbaijan Defense Minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov to Mr. Khawaja Muhammad Asif.

Colonel General K. Valiyev emphasized that the expansion of cooperation with Pakistan in the military field is always in the spotlight of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Mr. Ilham Aliyev.

Colonel General K. Valiyev gave detailed information to the Federal Minister for Defence of Pakistan about the engineering and reconstruction works carried out in the liberated territories, as well as the provocations committed by the Armenian armed forces on the conditional border and the measures taken to suppress these provocations.

The sides discussed the conduct of joint exercises, and cooperation in the field of defence industry, including a number of issues of mutual interest. The importance of further expansion of military and military-technical cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan was emphasized.

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Mr. Khazar Farhadov also participated in the meeting.