ISLAMABAD: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Tuesday met Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister of Defence Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz to discuss matters of mutual interest.

According to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), "Matters of mutual interest including bilateral defence, security cooperation and regional security were discussed."

The army chief arrived in Riyadh on Monday and met the Saudi military leadership to discuss "military to military ties including training exchanges".

General Bajwa was received by Saudi Arabia's Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces General Fayyad Al-Ruwaili.

The army chief is accompanied by Director-General Inter-Servies Intelligence Lt Gen Faiz Hameed.

"During the meeting, prospects for military cooperation and ways to support and boost it were reviewed, in addition to matters of common concern," the statement read.

Gen Bajwa had arrived in the kingdom earlier in the day on his official visit.

The visit took place in the backdrop of reported tension between the two countries following Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi's criticism of the Kingdom and the OIC for not taking a proactive approach on the issue of Kashmir.

However, the DG ISPR during a recent media briefing clarified that the visit was scheduled much before the situations created after FM Qureshi's statement.

There were also reports that the COAS may also take up the issue of supply of oil facility to Pakistan on deferred payment.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020