BRASILIA: The Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif on Wednesday was awarded Brazil's coveted 'Order of Merit' award in a ceremony held in the South American country.

General Raheel Sharif is also the first Asian to have received the award.

The chief of army staff was given the award in recognition of his leadership in the fight against terrorism and other threats.

General Raheel Sharif also met the Brazilian minister of defence and offered security assistance from Pakistan for the upcoming 2016 Olympics games due to be held in the South American country.

Also discussed on the occasion were matters related to the anti-narcotics effort in both countries.

Earlier in the week, General Raheel Sharif on Monday met the Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of Brazil Gen José Carlos de Nardi, who hailed the Pakistan Army's professionalism and operational achievements especially in ongoing counter-terrorism operations.

Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif arrived in Brazil after a five-day visit to Washington during which he met US Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter and other senior officials.

From Brazil, he will go to Ivory Coast to spend a day with Pakistani troops who were serving there as part of the UN peace keeping force.

His meetings in the US focused on Pak-US relations, military to military ties, regional security and on the situation in Afghanistan, Lt Gen Bajwa said earlier.