Pakistan and Brunei have held the Second Meeting of Joint Defence Working Committee (JDWC) in the Ministry of Defence of Pakistan, said an official statement. Defence Secretary Kamran Rasool and Brunei Permanent Secretary Defence Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Hamid co-chaired the meeting. In his opening remarks, Rasood welcomed his Brunei counterpart and members of his delegation and said that there was great potential for cooperation in the area of defence which needed to be explored for the mutual benefits of the two brotherly countries. The Pakistani side gave a detailed presentation about the regional security environment with particular reference to Afghanistan. The Brunei defence delegation was informed that Pakistan was making sincere efforts to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan because a stable and peaceful Afghanistan was in its own strategic interest. The measures taken by Pakistan for combating the scourge of terrorism were also highlighted during the presentation. The delegation was also briefed about the potential of Pakistan s defence industry. Rasool expressed Pakistan s deep appreciation for the timely and generous assistance provided by Brunei Darussalam at the time of the devastating earthquake in Pakistan in October 2005. The meeting identified various areas of defence cooperation and underlined the need to intensify efforts to develop a robust and strong defence relationship. It agreed to enhance cooperation in the area of military training and took note of Pakistan s capabilities in the area of defence production. Pakistan offered training courses in its Armed Forces Institutions to the military personnel of Brunei Darussalam. The meeting also proposed to hold joint military exercises. Both sides expressed satisfaction over the progress achieved during the course of discussion and hoped that the meeting would further contribute to enhancing military and defence cooperation between the two brotherly countries.
