Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan will lead Pakistan delegation to the inaugural meeting of Ministers of Defence Council of Saudi-led 41-nation Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia tomorrow (Sunday), which will formally mark the coalition.
According to Defence Ministry's spokesperson, Dastgir would leave for Saudi Arabia today to attend the event. He would be accompanied by Additional Secretary Defence Rear Admiral Faisal Rasool Lodhi. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Chief of the Army Staff (CoAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif will arrive at the meeting on November 27 (Monday).
However, sources told that the visit is bilateral in which the two countries would discuss issues of mutual interest as well as the regional situation. They said that the Prime Minister and the CoAS will meet Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and discuss issues of mutual interest, bilateral cooperation, situation in Middle East and the threat posed by terrorist organizations to the Muslim Ummah.
As the visit by Prime Minister and the CoAS comes a day after the formal launch of the IMCTC, the sources said that the leadership of the two countries would also be discussing Pakistan's specific role as a key member of the coalition of the Islamic military headed by former Army Chief General Raheel Sharif (retd).
According to the official website of IMCTC, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also Minister of Defence of the Kingdom, will open the meeting of Ministers of Defence Council which would be attended by defence ministers from 41-member countries including Pakistan.
Affirming their willingness to form a united Islamic front against terrorism, ministers of defence from member countries of the IMCTC have confirmed their participation for the inaugural meeting, it stated, adding that the meeting was being held under the theme "Allied Against Terrorism," envisaging attendance by 41 ministers of defence and delegations from member countries.
The key events and presentations will revolve around the strategy, governance, achievements, plans, and initiatives of the IMCTC in the domains of ideology, communications, counter terrorist financing, and military, according to the website. It further stated that the meeting will feature statements by the ministers of defence from member nations and will close with a 'Coalition Declaration' announcement and remarks by the Crown Prince.
The IMCTC provides a legitimate and integrated platform for member countries to propose, debate, and collaborate on the execution of counter terrorism solutions in four domains - ideology, communications, counter terrorist financing, and military, it added. To enable sustainable outcomes, the website stated that the IMCTC is also developing an 'information and intelligence sharing platform' to collect and disseminate a wide range of information on counterterrorism programs and best practices undertaken by member countries and supporting nations, and international organizations.
Comments
Comments are closed.