ISLAMABAD, May 17: The United Kingdom (UK) and Pakistan have expressed the desire to enhance cooperation between the two countries in different fields, says a press release issued by the defence ministry here on Tuesday. The ways of enhancing cooperation were discussed in a meeting between a visiting UK defence delegation, led by Permanent Under-Secretary of State of the Ministry of Defence Sir Kevin R. Tebbitt, and Minister for Defence Rao Sikandar Iqbal.

The minister told the visiting delegation that Pakistan and the UK enjoyed excellent relationship which needed to be further expanded. He briefed the visiting delegation about measures initiated by Pakistan under the leadership of Gen Pervez Musharraf for the economic and political stability of the country. He also highlighted the role played by Pakistan against drug trafficking and terrorism.

Sir Kevin R. Tebbitt acknowledged Pakistan’s efforts in this regard and stated that Pakistan had played a significant role in curbing and containing these evils. Earlier, the seventh meeting of the Pakistan-UK Defence Cooperation Forum (DCF) was held in the Ministry of Defence. The Pakistani side was led by Secretary Defence Lt-Gen (retd) Tariq Waseem Ghazi while the UK side was led by Mr Tebbitt.

The defence secretary said the relationship between the two countries was based on mutual benefit and balanced partnership and the DCF would contribute a lot towards the expansion of military and defence cooperation. The meeting emphasized the need for greater cooperation in areas like fighting terrorism, sharing of intelligence information, etc.

The secretary apprised the visiting delegation about the defence needs of Pakistan with special emphasis on the equipment needed for combating the menace of terrorism. He said Pakistan greatly valued military training and other assistance by the UK for the armed forces of Pakistan.

The delegation was given a detailed presentation about the counter-terrorism measures taken by Pakistan. Mr Tebbitt made a presentation on the involvement of UK forces in Afghanistan. He highlighted the strategic objectives and future strategy of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and NATO’s future geographical expansion. The meeting will resume its deliberations on Wednesday.