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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Navy chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf has said that collaboration with Ankara has &ldquo;significantly strengthened&rdquo; Islamabad&rsquo;s local industrial base. He said this in an exclusive interview with T&uuml;rkiye&rsquo;s state-run Anadolu News Agency, shared by Pakistan Navy&rsquo;s Director General Public Relations (DGPR), on its X account on Friday.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1991811110492860872&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=f8c66d1472d8d7ae95e659d14ebd8380300e9c36&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 897px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>Admiral Ashraf said Pakistan&rsquo;s fast-growing defense partnership with T&uuml;rkiye has become one of the region&rsquo;s most prominent examples of successful technology transfer. He said cooperation between the two countries has already &ldquo;significantly strengthened&rdquo; Islamabad&rsquo;s domestic industrial capacity. The chief said the collaboration, especially in naval shipbuilding, demonstrates how shared ambitions for self-reliance can translate into concrete industrial gains. &lsquo;Success story&rsquo;&nbsp;At the center of this &ldquo;success story,&rdquo; he noted, is the joint production of MILGEM-class corvettes, one of Pakistan&rsquo;s largest defense projects involving a foreign partner. MILGEM is&nbsp;Turkey&#39;s indigenous national warship building program. Admiral Ashraf described the program as a &ldquo;living example of this cooperation.&rdquo; Under a 2018 agreement, Pakistan acquired four MILGEM corvettes from T&uuml;rkiye&rsquo;s state-owned defense company, ASFAT: two built in T&uuml;rkiye and two constructed at Karachi Shipyard &amp; Engineering Works, a model designed to transfer design, engineering, and project management expertise to Pakistan. Calling the initiative a &ldquo;hallmark of Pakistan-T&uuml;rkiye defense collaboration and technology sharing,&rdquo; Admiral Ashraf said the program has &ldquo;significantly strengthened&rdquo; Pakistan&rsquo;s local industrial base, &ldquo;paving the way for future self-reliance in naval shipbuilding.&rdquo; &lsquo;Practical and mutually beneficial&rsquo;With the experience gained, he added, Islamabad and Ankara can &ldquo;build on this success to explore joint development of unmanned maritime systems, underwater technologies, and advanced sensors.&rdquo; T&uuml;rkiye and Pakistan&rsquo;s &ldquo;shared commitment to self-reliance and innovation&rdquo; makes such partnerships &ldquo;practical and mutually beneficial,&rdquo; he said. Admiral Ashraf also emphasized that cooperation is not only technical but strategic, noting that maritime security in the current geopolitical environment requires &ldquo;cooperation against shared challenges.&rdquo; &lsquo;Common goals&rsquo;&ldquo;We view T&uuml;rkiye&rsquo;s engagement in the region as complementary to our vision of a secure maritime environment for economic prosperity,&rdquo; he said, referring to Ankara&rsquo;s expanding naval influence in the Indian Ocean and East Africa. &ldquo;Both navies share common goals viz-a-viz regional stability, maritime connectivity and cooperative security; our regular interactions strengthen these shared objectives,&rdquo; he added. Pakistan&rsquo;s navy, Admiral Ashraf said, plays &ldquo;a key role in ensuring regional maritime security and safeguarding the maritime domain connected with CPEC,&rdquo; the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Conference to &lsquo;rejuvenate&rsquo; maritime economyAdmiral Ashraf also highlighted Pakistan&rsquo;s efforts to revive its blue economy, an area where he said Islamabad and Ankara &ldquo;share a strong and enduring partnership.&rdquo; Speaking about the second edition of the Pakistan International Maritime Expo and Conference (PIMEC), held earlier this month in Karachi, he said the event aimed to &ldquo;rejuvenate&rdquo; maritime economic activities and showcase the country&rsquo;s broader &ldquo;maritime potential.&rdquo; Beyond shipbuilding, the navy chief noted that Pakistan is &ldquo;progressively incorporating&rdquo; emerging domains such as information dominance and cyber resilience into its training, doctrines, and joint exercises. &ldquo;Collaboration with friendly navies like T&uuml;rkiye helps both sides build skills in network-centric warfare, electronic warfare operations and modern concepts, ensuring preparedness against evolving threats,&rdquo; he said.

Security

Says Türkiye and Pakistan’s ‘shared commitment to self-reliance and innovation’ makes such partnerships ‘mutually beneficial’; Islamabad and Ankara can ‘build on this success to explore joint development of unmanned maritime systems, underwater technologies and advanced sensors.’ 

Ankara collaboration has ‘strengthened’ Islamabad’s industrial base: Pakistan Navy chief

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Naveed Ashraf, in his visit to the United States, held numerous meetings aimed at further strengthening bilateral maritime cooperation and defense engagements. &nbsp; The CNS Admiral, Naveed Ashraf, &ldquo;visited the United States and held meetings with senior naval, coast guard, and state officials,&rdquo; said a post on X by Director General Public Relations of Pakistan Navy on Thursday. &ldquo;Discussions focused on maritime cooperation, regional security, and defense engagement reflecting strong Pak US naval ties,&rdquo; it added.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1978827899865079927&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard%2F&sessionId=14d2aecbf04aca2ce9773aa2981d793ab26e05fa&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 721px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;"></iframe></div></div>A press release issued on Friday by Pakistan military&rsquo;s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, Admiral Ashraf&rsquo;s visited the US &ldquo;as part of ongoing efforts to further strengthen bilateral maritime cooperation and defense engagements.&rdquo; During the visit, the Naval Chief called on US Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Vice Admiral Yvette Davids, and Acting Vice Commandant of the US Coast Guard, Vice Admiral Thomas G Allan Jr, the ISPR&rsquo;s statement said. Maritime cooperation Matters of professional interest, regional security dynamics, and avenues for professional training and maritime cooperation were discussed during these meetings.<div class="fr-embed youtube-embed"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2-xp0SEzwJA" title="Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf visits the United States.| ISPR" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="" style="width: 100%; height: auto; aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; max-width: 100%; display: block;"></iframe>&nbsp;</div>The Naval Chief also visited the National Defence University (NDU) and met its President, Vice Admiral Peter A Garvin. At the US State Department, the Admiral met Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, Stanley L Brown. The engagements encompassed deliberations on politico-military cooperation, maritime security, capacity-building initiatives, and shared maritime interests. Admiral Ashraf also addressed a gathering of US scholars and think-tank experts. In his talk, the naval chief highlighted regional maritime security challenges and Pakistan Navy&rsquo;s contributions towards collaborative maritime efforts. The visit of the naval chief reflects the enduring defense ties between Pakistan and the United States, reaffirming the mutual commitment to promoting maritime security in the region and beyond, the ISPR&rsquo;s statement said.

Pakistan’s Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf visited the US to bolster maritime cooperation, meeting senior military and state officials. Discussions covered regional security, training, defense collaboration, and reaffirmed strong Pakistan-US naval ties.

Articles tagged with "Admiral Naveed Ashraf"

Ankara collaboration has ‘strengthened’ Islamabad’s industrial base: Pakistan Navy chief

Maritime cooperation focus of Pakistan Navy chief’s US visit: DGPR