Pakistan and Korea have announced their interest in establishing mutually beneficial co-operation in the field of defence production and agreed to further enhance each other's capabilities by helping through joint ventures.
Minister for Defence Production, Rana Tanveer Hussain, along with Additional Secretary Major General Raza Muhammad and joint secretary Air Commodore Farrukh, visiting South Korea on the invitation of his Korean Defence Minister.
Minister for Defence Production Sunday visited DAPA (defence production administration), SUSAN (the hub of defence production in Korea), Korean Aerospace Industry (KAI), Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) PONGSAN (ammunition building industry) where not only were the new technologies appreciated but also both sides agreed to further enhance each other's capabilities by helping through joint ventures.
Talking on the occasion, he said Pakistan, Korea have agreed to develop a plan of action for establishing military and technical co-operation between the two countries, says a press release.
He said Koreans have expressed the desire to establish close ties with Pakistan. Korea has called for technology sharing in the field of defence production, he added. The minister also stressed the need of buying and selling of products so that better capabilities on both sides can be made use off.
The Pakistani side invited the Korean Defence Minister to visit the 8th International Defence exhibition and seminar "IDEAS-2014", from December 1-4 in Karachi. Korea has shown keen interest in building the second shipyard in Pakistan. Minister for Defence has called for a project plan which will help look into the matter.
Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain highlighted the strides Pakistan has made in the field of Defence Production and significantly talked about the ace aircraft JF-17 being built in Pakistan.
He added that Pakistan is producing the best armament and heavy machinery. Our APCs are of B6 protection and are also developing B7 protection vehicles. These are low cost and state of the art equipment and Pakistan is proud of such developments.
He said that Pakistan looks forward to exploring international markets and wants the world to support it in its endeavours. Pakistani Ambassador to Seoul arranged a book and handicrafts exhibition which the minister inaugurated.