Pakistan Navy P3C-Orion aircraft will also participate in the exercise from Dalaman,said a statement received here Saturday from Ankara.

The ship will stay at Aksaz Naval Base from 5-8 November and at Antalya from 12-14 November. The vessel is a multi-mission frigate and embarks a Z9EC helicopter.

PNS Shamsheer is the second ship of SWORD Class Frigates and forms mainstay of Pakistan Navy surface combatants. Installation of state of the art weapons and sensors onboard makes her an extremely versatile warship with tremendous firepower to effectively thwart possible threats at sea.

Mavi Balina exercise is fast transforming into an important regional forum to promote Collaborative Maritime Security and interoperability.

The presence of a number of major navies and various senior delegations from important countries is indicative of the fact that Mavi Balina is evolving into a common forum for both Western and Eastern nations, to share, discuss and propose solutions for Collaborative Maritime Security which is one of the critical contemporary maritime challenges.

PNS Shamsheer participation in this exercise will further strengthen existing bilateral relations.

Reciprocatory visits of high level defence delegations, exchange training programmes and visits of naval units is a regular feature of Turkey-Pakistan defence relations.

Pakistan Navy is actively involved in maintaining peace and stability in the region - from Gulf of Aden to Gulf of Oman including North Arabian Sea.

Pakistan Navy ships are vigorously operating and participating in all peace keeping missions. Pakistan Navy joined the Coalition Maritime Campaign Plan (CMCP) after 9/11 incident and had so far commanded the Coalition Task Force-150 five times.

Due to Pakistan Navy’s proactive stance and operations, not a single terrorism related incident has occurred in its area of operation.

Pakistan is well on its way in indigenous production of naval vessels such as Mines Counter Measures Vessels, Submarines, Destroyers and Missile Boats.