Special forces from Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Turkey and Uzbekistan join hands in ‘Eternal Brotherhood-II’.
Pakistan’s military initiated a two-week multinational military exercise on Tuesday, in a bid to to bolster international military relations with friendly nations.
The military exercise saw the participation of special forces units from countries including Qatar and Turkey.
Dubbed ‘Eternal Brotherhood-II,’ the strategic event also hails special forces contingents from Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, who are set to participate in the two-week exercise, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir attended the opening ceremony of the exercise.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani military, the exercise serves the purpose of reinforcing historical military-to-military relationships among friendly nations.
It aims to nurture the concept of joint employment and explore avenues for enhancing military synergy, according to an ISPR statement.
“The exercise is aimed at further harnessing the historic military-to-military relations among the friendly countries, including nurturing of joint employment concept while identifying areas of mutual interest for future military collaborations and benefitting from each other’s experience against terrorism,” the statement added.
The event is a bid by Pakistan to build military alliances with international nations.
Qatar-Pakistan relations
Qatar and Pakistan have maintained longstanding relations on many fronts.
Qatar’s significant investments in various sectors of Pakistan’s economy, particularly in the energy and infrastructure sectors, have been instrumental in fostering economic growth and stability in Pakistan.
Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund agreed in August 2022 to invest some $3 billion into key sectors of Pakistan’s economy, following a visit to the Gulf state by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Sharif found himself in a gasoline crisis-hit Pakistan that has resulted in blackouts in several areas of the nation.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund said in July that it has approved a $3 billion loan agreement for the cash-starved Pakistan.
The collaboration between the two nations on energy projects, including the Qatar-Pakistan liquified natural gas terminal (LNG), has played a pivotal role in addressing Pakistan’s energy needs.
The Qatar-Pakistan LNG Terminal, commonly known as the QPCL (Qatar Petroleum Consortium Limited) terminal was inaugurated in November 2017 and has played a significant role in addressing Pakistan’s energy crisis.
