Pakistan and Iran, who enjoy 'long-standing brotherly' relations, will carry out joint naval exercises aimed at further strengthening ties between the navies of the two countries. "This, apart from a good opportunity for personnel of two navies to benefit from each other's experiences, also provides an arena to improve upon naval procedures and doctrines," Pakistan navy statement said on Tuesday.
The Iranian naval ships Iris Bandar Abbas and Iris Larak will hold joint exercises with Pakistani navy, it said.
The exercise comes at a moment when Western media is all out to create a wedge between the time-tested relations between the two brother Muslim countries, the statement added.
Commenting on Pakistan's Navy announcement, defence experts termed it a timely step and said that it would not only annul the propaganda by the vested interests of a so-called chill in friendly relationship of the two States but also help maintain peace in the volatile region of South Asia.