Pakistan and China have signed two defence pacts aiming to provide further military and security assistance to the Pakistani armed forces.
The agreements, details of which were not made public, were inked on Wednesday at the end of the 4th round of defence and security talks at the Joint Staff Headquarters in Islamabad, a news daily reported.
Both sides expressed satisfaction over the progress made so far and shared "a commonality of perception on all important regional and international issues", the daily said, quoting an official announcement.
Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Ehsan Ul Haq led the Pakistani delegation, while visiting Lt Gen Zhang Qin Sheng, assistant to the chief of general staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), led the Chinese side at the talks.
Following the negotiations, Additional Secretary of Defence Production Maj Gen Tariq Salim Malik, and the Deputy Director General of the Foreign Office in the Ministry of National Defence, Maj Gen Jia Xiaoning, signed the agreements on behalf of their governments.
The Pakistan-China defence and security meeting is the highest common forum between the two armed forces and is held alternatively in China and Pakistan in order to identify areas of further cooperation and mutual assistance.
The first round was held in March 2002, in Pakistan. The next round of talks will be held in 2007 in China, the newspaper announced.
{{/usCountry}}The first round was held in March 2002, in Pakistan. The next round of talks will be held in 2007 in China, the newspaper announced.
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