Pakistani forces kill 27 militants in southwestern Balochistan province

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu on Wednesday reiterated his unwavering support to provide capacity building assistance to Rwanda’s air force and share his force’s operational training expertise with the African country to help meet its security challenges, the military’s media wing said. 

A high-level defense delegation from Rwanda led by Rwanda Air Chief Let. Gen. Jean Jacques Mupenzi called on Sidhu at the Air Headquarters in Islamabad, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. 

Sidhu shared insights into various ongoing modernization projects of the Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) operational construct, force goals and plans for the force structure with a keen focus on future warfare, the ISPR said. 

“The Air Chief reiterated PAF’s unwavering support to provide capacity-building assistance to the Rwandan Air Force in upgradation of its human resource, maintenance parameters and operational training,” the ISPR said. 

Mupenzi admired PAF’s professional training standards, modernized infrastructure and multi-domain capabilities, the military’s media wing said. The Rwandan air chief emphasized the need for a major overhaul and collaboration to enhance the capabilities of Rwanda’s Air Force with assistance from the PAF to meet “contemporary security challenges,” the ISPR said.

“The visiting dignitary also expressed a strong desire for a partnership with Pakistan Air Force aimed at establishing comprehensive training programs for basic-level training of aircrew and technical training of ground crew of Rwandan Air Force,” the ISPR said. 

The delegation was given a detailed briefing on the PAF’s operational capabilities during their visit to the National ISR & Integrated Air Operations Center and PAF Cyber Command in Islamabad, the ISPR said.

“This visit of Lt. Gen. Jean Jacques Mupenzi to Air Headquarters, Islamabad is testament to strong desire of Rwandan side to restructure their Air Force, utilizing the professional expertise of Pakistan Air Force,” the military’s media wing said. 

ISLAMABAD: Azerbaijan and Pakistan inaugurated a joint chamber of commerce and industry on Wednesday, Pakistan’s privatization ministry said, as part of Islamabad’s efforts to bring investment matters in priority sectors under a single platform.

Azerbaijan officials have made several visits to Pakistan in recent months as Islamabad seeks to strengthen trade and investment ties with former Soviet republics and Central Asian states. Last July, President Ilham Aliyev visited Pakistan and announced that the two countries were working to enhance bilateral trade to $2 billion.

The development also takes place amid Pakistan’s aggressive efforts to escape a prolonged economic crisis by attracting investment in energy, mining, agriculture, infrastructure, livestock and other key sectors of its economy. Pakistan has signed agreements worth billions of dollars with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other countries since 2023 after its macroeconomic crisis brought it to the brink of a sovereign default. 

“Pakistan has achieved another significant milestone in boosting investment and business activities with the inauguration of the Azerbaijan-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry,” the privatization ministry said in a press release. It added that Pakistan’s Privatization Minister Abdul Aleem Khan and Azerbaijan’s Ambassador Khazar Farhadov were chief guests at the event in Islamabad. 

Khan said the joint chamber of commerce has enabled both countries to address investment matters under a single platform, adding that Pakistan would collaborate with Azerbaijan’s business community to boost exports of local products.

Ambassador Farhadov said both countries were taking steps to enhance bilateral cooperation, the ministry said. He expressed confidence in the joint chamber of commerce as a platform that would aid in increasing the existing $2 billion business volume between both countries.

Islamabad and Baku’s cooperation spans several sectors. Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said in January that both countries were in the process of finalizing a memorandum of agreement to enhance security ties through cooperation in arms trade, defense infrastructure and intelligence sharing.

In December, Pakistan waived customs and regulatory duties on imports from Azerbaijan under the Pakistan-Azerbaijan Preferential Trade Agreement. The agreement aims to enhance economic cooperation by reducing tariffs on goods such as Pakistan’s sports equipment, leather and pharmaceuticals, and Azerbaijan’s oil and gas products.