ISLAMABAD, July 29 (APP): President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday said Pakistan desired to strengthen its relations with South Africa in areas of trade, investment and defence.
Talking to the visiting Chief of South African National Defence Force General Rudzani Maphwanaya here at Aiwan-e-Sadr, the president said there existed huge potential between Pakistan and South Africa for increasing cooperation in diverse areas.
President Alvi said Pakistan and South Africa enjoyed excellent cooperation in the field of defence, which needed to be further expanded for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
He said Pakistan attached great importance to its ties with South Africa under its ‘Look Africa’ policy and wanted to increase the frequency of exchanges at military and political levels.
The president highlighted Pakistan’s strategy of smart lockdowns that had successfully contained the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also shed light on the human rights violations in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) being committed by the Indian security forces against the innocent Kashmiris.
He said India was involved in the ethnic cleansing of Muslims by martyring innocent Kashmiri Muslims and issuing domiciles to non-Kashmiris to change the demography of the IIOJK.
He also called upon the international community to play its role in implementing the UN Security Council resolutions to grant the people of IIOJK their right to self-determination.
General Rudzani Maphwanya said that the armed forces of the two countries had good working relations, which needed to be further improved for the mutual benefit of the two sides.
The president expressed the hope that the visit of the Chief of South African National Defence Force would help in further strengthening the ties between Pakistan and South Africa.
