Indonesia wants to deepen defence production ties with Pakistan
Indonesia, which has a robust military relationship with Pakistan through regular joint military drills and military personnel for training programmes, expressed its desire to further enhance its ties with the country during the ongoing visit of Indonesian Defence Minister Lt Gen (retired) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin to Islamabad.
According to media reports, Indonesia is particularly interested in partnering with Pakistan in the field of defence production.
Sjamsoeddin met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and expressed his country's wish to “further strengthen defence ties with Pakistan and to explore possible areas for cooperation, especially in defence production.”
The Pakistan PM reaffirmed his country's commitment to explore and expand collaboration with Indonesia in joint ventures of investment in mutually beneficial projects, including the fields of defence and defence production, a statement from Pakistan's press information department said.
ALSO READ: Why Japan thinks China is its biggest strategic challenge
The Pakistan PM also reviewed various ongoing initiatives under the Pakistan-Indonesia Defence Cooperation Agreement.
“The meeting underscored the deep-rooted historical, brotherly and friendly bilateral relations between Pakistan and Indonesia,” the statement said, reported Dawn.
Indonesia has signalled interest in joint defence production with Pakistan, notably in aviation projects like the JF-17 Thunder multirole fighter jet, developed collaboratively by Pakistan and China.
Defence