COAS Bajwa meets Saudi counterpart, discusses regional security

(Karachi) Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa met the Saudi Arabia's Deputy Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman on Tuesday. Bajwa is on an official visit to the Kingdom during which he is scheduled to meet high officials.

According to military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), both officials discussed bilateral relations, matters of mutual interest, and military cooperation.

Later, Saudi deputy defence minister tweeted: “[I] Met today with my brother, H.E. General Qamar Bajwa, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff. We discussed bilateral relations, military cooperation, and our common vision for preserving regional security.”

Met today with my brother, H.E. General Qamar Bajwa, Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff. We discussed bilateral relations, military cooperation, and our common vision for preserving regional security. pic.twitter.com/PeDRCErx0i

— Khalid bin Salman خالد بن سلمان (@kbsalsaud) August 17, 2020

Earlier, the COAS had a meeting with his Saudi counterpart Major General Fayyad bin Hammad Al-Ruwaili at General Staff Headquarter in Riyadh. During the meeting, both leaders discussed ways and means to enhance defense and military cooperation between the two brotherly countries, ISPR stated.

The army chief also met with Saudi Commander Joint Forces Lieutenant General Fahad bin Turki Al Saud.

The COAS visit comes days after Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi criticised the Gulf country for not supporting its stance on Kashmir.

Saudi Arabia is the largest source of remittances to Pakistan and one of its biggest financial backers. The two countries are close allies. In 2018, Saudi Arabia gave Pakistan a $3 billon loan and $3.2 billion oil credit facility to help its balance of payments crisis.

Pakistan has long pressed the Saudi-led Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) to convene a high-level meeting to highlight alleged Indian violations in the part it controls. It urged the organization to intervene and highlight human rights violations by Indian troops in occupied valley.