RAWALPINDI, May 7: Wide-ranging issues relating to defence relations between Pakistan and the UK and other issues were discussed in the opening session of the fifth two-day Pakistan-UK Defence Cooperation Forum meeting which opened here on Wednesday.

An 11-member delegation from the United Kingdom led by UK Permanent Under Secretary for Defence Sir Kevin Tebbitt arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday morning.

Defence Secretary Lt-Gen Hamid Nawaz Khan (retired), and Sir Kevin Tebbitt, Permanent Under Secretary of Defence, UK, co-chaired the opening plenary session.

Mr Nawaz, in his welcome address, said that Pakistan and UK enjoyed close relationship and had shared a long association with each other over the past many years in political, economic, defence and technical fields.

Appreciating the progress made on the implementation of the decisions made in the 4th DCF, the secretary stressed that cooperation between the two countries should be enhanced to provide effective capability in conventional forces.

On the Kashmir issue, the secretary said that Pakistan believed in peaceful resolution of all issues, including the core issue of Kashmir, through negotiations. Although positive signals were coming from the Indian leadership lately for resuming talks with Pakistan, the slogans, he added, needed to be translated into concrete actions.

Sir Kevin Tebbitt, in his opening remarks, described the relations between Pakistan and UK as consistent, deep-rooted and practical and said that the progress made during the past one year in the field of defence was a symbol of this mature relationship.

Sir Kevin Tebbitt also lauded the role played by Pakistan in the war against terrorism and appreciated peace-keeping efforts made by Pakistan under the auspices of the United Nations in various parts of the world.

Both sides hoped that this meeting would play a pivotal role in providing a new impetus to the ongoing process of collaboration.

Later, the delegation was sub-divided into two groups on military training and defence equipment.