Collaboration Talks With Pakistan Navy Commander

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi expressed hope that a joint drill could be arranged with Pakistan's Navy during the Iranian calendar year that ends next March. "We hope that necessary arrangements could be made for a joint Iran-Pakistan naval exercise by the yearend with the participation of the IRGC's naval forces," he was quoted by ISNA as telling Pakistan’s Navy chief Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi on Monday.  The two top commanders met on the sidelines of a conference on naval cooperation and international issues in Tehran -- the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium 2018. Abbasi called for closer military cooperation with Tehran, saying, "Pakistan holds Iran and its people in high regard… I hope to see closer military relations between the two countries."  The IONS is a forum to promote maritime cooperation among the littoral states of the Indian Ocean and build peaceful relations between them. It is critical to efforts by member states to construct an effective maritime security architecture.