Capacity building of peacekeeping operations: Pakistan, China to sign agreement

Pakistan and China will sign agreement on bilateral cooperation for enhancing capacity building of peacekeeping operations, official sources told Business Recorder.
Giving the background, the sources said, in pursuance of the framework of Joint Declaration between Pakistan and China on directions of bilateral cooperation, treaty of friendship cooperation and good neighbourly relations and the framework agreement on cooperation between the Defence Ministries of both the countries signed in November 2003, April 2005 and February 2006 respectively, Ministry of Defence of Pakistan and the Ministry of National Defence of China intend to sign the protocol on "policy collaboration with regard to United Nations Peacekeeping Operations".
The sources said, the protocol provides for enhancement of capacity building for United Nations Peacekeeping Operations through bilateral consultations, joint operational reviews, exchange visits of concerned officials, joint peacekeeping exercises etc.
The charter which embodies the willingness of the two countries to develop friendly relations between the defence establishment, to further strengthen the cooperation in the fields of defence, and security and to maintain peace and stability in the region and the world at large.
To implement this framework agreement on cooperation the parties agree to positively facilitate the signing of cooperation protocols in specific fields including the enhancement of capacity building for peacekeeping operations. In this connection, the parties reach the following agreement through friendly consultations:-
Article 1: Scope and Means of Cooperation: The parties shall coordinate on policy formulation with regard to United Nations peacekeeping operations including through bilateral consultations, joint operational reviews and visits of concerned officials to promote understanding and cooperation between the two countries. The parties shall collaborate and support each other on issues of common interest related to peacekeeping in various United Nations bodies. The parties shall have bilateral exchanges of potential peacekeepers for training. The parties shall have bilateral exchanges of faculty from peacekeeping training institutes. The parties shall have joint peacekeeping exercises before deployment in United Nations Missions, based on the situation in the deployment zone.
Article 2: Mechanism of Cooperation: To further stipulate detailed items and requirements of cooperation, an implementation program may be stipulated with the relevant provisions of Article 1 of this Protocol based on consensus of the Parties through consultation. The two parties shall protect the information obtained or exchanged during cooperation based on their respective national laws. Without mutual consent, the protected information during the cooperation shall not be provided to any other country, organization or individual.
Article 4: Modification and Supplement: The protocol may be modified or supplemented on the basis of agreement through consultation and shall enter into force on the date of signing.
Article 5: Settlement of Differences and Disputes: Any differences or disputes arising from the interpretation or application of this protocol shall be settled through consultation and negotiation by the Parties.
Article 6: Entry into Force, Term and Termination: This protocol shall enter into force on the date of signing and shall be valid for five years, renewable automatically for successive periods of five years, unless either party requests its termination by serving a written notice to the other party six months prior to date of expiration. The actions taken during the validity of this protocol shall continue to be governed by the provisions of this protocol till their completion, unless the Parties agree otherwise.