Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Baber Sidhu visits Saudi Arabia, agrees to strengthen defense cooperation

RAWALPINDI (Dunya News): Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Chief Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu visited Saudi Arabia, holding high-level meetings with Saudi defense leadership.

Upon arrival, the Air Chief was received with a guard of honor by the Royal Saudi Air Force. He met with Lieutenant General Turki bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Commander of the Royal Saudi Air Force, and General Fayez bin Hamid Al-Ruwaili, Chief of General Staff.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), discussions focused on regional security, future defense collaboration, joint training exercises, operational cooperation, and exchange of professional expertise. The meetings emphasized enhancing military collaboration through bilateral and international exercises.

Air Chief Marshal Sidhu highlighted the historic and fraternal ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and reaffirmed the commitment to deepen defense cooperation, describing the Pakistan-Saudi defense agreement as a symbol of mutual trust and brotherhood. He also briefed Saudi counterparts on the PAF’s transformation into a multi-domain force.

The Saudi defense leadership expressed keen interest in Pakistan Air Force capabilities in space, cyber, electronic warfare, and artificial intelligence. They commended the PAF’s professionalism, combat readiness, and regional security contributions, and expressed strong interest in expanding joint training and operational collaboration.

Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to further enhance cooperation in defense and aviation sectors, emphasizing the Pakistan-Saudi defense partnership as a hallmark of trust, solidarity, and strategic collaboration.