Slug: muizzu-munir-meeting-defence-cooperation-islamabad
Category: National News
Focus keyphrase: Muizzu Munir meeting
SEO title: Muizzu Munir Meeting Backs Stronger Pakistan-Maldives Ties
Meta description: Field Marshal Asim Munir met Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu in Islamabad, with both sides agreeing to deepen defence cooperation.
Tags: Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu, Asim Munir, Pakistan Maldives ties, defence cooperation, ISPR, Islamabad, South Asia
Original element: our own data point — Feature Pakistan’s own coverage of Muizzu’s visit (the 20-MoU signing ceremony and the direct-flights announcement) provides the backdrop for this defence meeting, linked in the article.
Muizzu, Munir Discuss Defence Cooperation During Maldives President’s Islamabad Visit
ISLAMABAD: The Muizzu Munir meeting in Islamabad on Wednesday saw Chief of Defence Forces and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir call on visiting Maldivian President Dr Mohamed Muizzu, with both sides underlining the importance of strengthening defence cooperation between the two countries.
The military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations, said the two leaders discussed matters of mutual interest, the prevailing regional security environment and avenues for enhancing bilateral cooperation. Both sides underscored the importance of strengthening defence cooperation, institutional linkages and professional exchanges, ISPR said.
The field marshal highlighted the longstanding and cordial relations between Pakistan and the Maldives and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further strengthening bilateral cooperation and promoting regional peace, stability and security through constructive engagement. President Muizzu commended the professionalism of Pakistan’s armed forces and appreciated the country’s continued efforts to promote regional peace and stability.
The Muizzu Munir meeting crowns a landmark visit
The meeting came on the second day of Muizzu’s three-day visit to Pakistan at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. It is the first visit by a Maldivian president in 11 years, since Abdulla Yameen’s trip in 2015, and coincides with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, established in 1966.
Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistan and the Maldives signed 20 memorandums of understanding covering defence, maritime security, information technology, cybersecurity, health, education, agriculture, fisheries, tourism and other sectors. The agreements include an MoU on defence cooperation, one on maritime security, and cooperation between the police academies of the two countries.
Addressing a joint press stakeout after the signing ceremony, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the two countries would keep strengthening their relations “for all time to come”. The two sides agreed to raise bilateral trade from $13.9 million to $200 million within two years, and Pakistan offered 100,000 olive cuttings and 100,000 seeds of various plant species to support the Maldives’ plan to plant five million trees.
What the defence push means for the region
The defence strand of the visit goes beyond ceremony. Pakistan already trains Maldivian military and police personnel, and the new MoU on defence cooperation plus the maritime security pact give that relationship a formal framework. For the Maldives, an archipelago of more than a thousand islands, maritime security is a direct national interest. For Pakistan, the Indian Ocean sea lanes that link Karachi and Gwadar to the Maldives carry trade that both countries want to protect.
Muizzu also used the visit to commend Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts “to promote dialogue, de-escalation, humanitarian assistance and a just and lasting peace” in the Middle East. President Zardari separately met the Maldivian leader at Aiwan-e-Sadr and stressed translating political goodwill into greater trade, investment, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges.
The Maldivian president was later conferred an honorary doctorate in politics by the International Islamic University Islamabad, which recognised what the prime minister described as his sagacious and wise leadership and his public service to the people of the Maldives.
Read more: Shehbaz, Muizzu sign 20 MoUs, set $200m trade target | Pakistan-Maldives direct flights on the cards during Muizzu visit
Who met President Muizzu in Islamabad on Wednesday?
Chief of Defence Forces and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir called on the Maldivian president in Islamabad, according to ISPR.
What did Munir and Muizzu discuss?
The two leaders discussed matters of mutual interest, the prevailing regional security environment and ways to enhance bilateral cooperation, with both sides stressing stronger defence cooperation, institutional linkages and professional exchanges.
How many MoUs did Pakistan and the Maldives sign?
Twenty memorandums of understanding were signed, covering defence, maritime security, IT, cybersecurity, health, education, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, culture and other sectors.
When was the last Maldivian president’s visit to Pakistan?
The last visit was in 2015 by then president Abdulla Yameen. Muizzu’s trip is the first by a Maldivian president in 11 years and coincides with 60 years of diplomatic relations.
