Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday called for increasing defence co-operation between Pakistan and Bangladesh that would also contribute toward promoting peace in the region.
Talking to Bangladesh Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Fakharul Azam, who called on him here, the Prime Minister said there was no limit to co-operation between the two countries in every field.
Stressing the need for enhancing bilateral defence co-operation, he said the two countries could share each other's expertise and experiences. This co-operation would also promote peace in the region, he added.
The Prime Minister said Pakistan believed in peace with all its neighbours, which could be achieved through strength and not weakness.
Pakistan is maintaining a minimum credible deterrence and promoting use of modern technology to meet its defence requirements, he added.
The Prime Minister underlined the need of promoting existing co-operation between the two countries and called for sharing experiences in line with the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed during President Pervez Musharraf's visit to Dhaka.
The Prime Minister further added constant upgrading of technology was essential for keeping defence preparedness at the optimum level.
Pakistan and China, he added, were jointly developing the JF-17 fighter, which will have necessary capabilities of meeting defence requirements. This aircraft would also be available in the export market to meet requirements of our friendly countries, he added.
The Prime Minister referred to the common heritage, history, faith and culture and said being members of Saarc, both the countries were committed to economic development in the region and sharing best practices.
Pakistan, he added, was looking forward to the next Saarc summit scheduled to be held in Dhaka in November this year to build on the initiatives taken in Saarc Islamabad summit held in 2004.
The Bangladesh Chief of Air Staff said both the air forces maintain close co-operation in training, maintenance, etc, and also sharing their experiences.
He said existing co-operation between the two countries would be further promoted through exchange of expertise and training in the days to come.