RAWALPINDI, June 27: Pakistan and the United States of America reiterated their desire to further strengthen defence relationship so as to cope with the emerging challenges in mutually beneficial ways.

This was discussed during a meeting between Ryan Henry, Principal Deputy for the US Under Secretary of Defence for Policy, and Pakistan’s Secretary Defence, Lt Gen (retd) Tariq Waseem Ghazi here on Tuesday.

Both sides emphasized the need for maintaining long-term sustainable strategic engagement which was essential to maintaining peace and stability in the region.

In their discussions, both sides were able to reinforce the gains made at the May 1-5, 2006 deliberations of the Defence Consultative Group at Washington.

The meeting was followed by a discussion on policy formulation initiatives, defence review processes and force structures for future needs.

The meeting was also attended by senior officials of the Ministry of Defence and officers from the Joint Staff Headquarters.—APP