Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Mahmood Hayat Visits Brazil

Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), General Zubair Mahmood Hayat NI (M), at the invitation’ of his Brazilian counterpart, paid an official visit to Brazil from 5-10 May 2019. Besides holding substantive meetings with the military leadership of Brazil, the Chairman visited the prestigious Superior War College of Brazilian Armed Forces and presented Pakistan’s viewpoint on the prevailing regional and global security challenges and response options.

The meeting between the Chairman and the Chief of Joint Staff of Brazilian Armed Forces Lt. Brig. Ar Raul Bothelho, reviewed the overall bilateral defence relations. The two sides while expressing satisfaction over the current level of defence cooperation including training of military personnel underlined the need to explore additional areas of mutually benefitting defence collaboration including joint ventures. The military leadership of Pakistan and Brazil jointly emphasized the mutual benefits of cooperation in matters relating to defence and expressed their commitment to continue the constructive dialogue. Both sides agreed to further deepen bilateral defence cooperation through sharing of expertise in important areas like defence production and science & technology. The two sides also agreed to keep the momentum of increasing cooperation through high level visits to and from Pakistan.

During the visit, the Chairman also visited Brazil’s defence related facilities and received briefings on technical aspects of Army, Air Force and Navy. The Chairman held fruitful discussions with the high Representatives of all three forces of Brazil. A clear understanding was reached on keep sharing each other’s expertise for further deepening mutually beneficial relations.

The Chairman’s visit also witnessed the finalization of the text of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Pakistan and Brazil on Defence Cooperation. The MoU will provide the institutional framework to facilitate both countries in further broadening the base of bilateral defence relations.

Earlier, Ambassador Najm us Saqib received General Zubair Mahmood Hayat at the Embassy of Pakistan in Brasilia and briefed him on the main contours of Pak-Brazil relations while highlighting the recent developments taken place including the inking of the Agreement on Technical Cooperation in August 2018. The Chairman lauded the efforts put in by the Ambassador and his team in increasing cooperation between Pakistan and Brazil in different fields. A brief interaction with Pakistan community based in Brazil was also included in the visit programme.

Defence Attache Brigadier General Muhammad Yousaf accompanied the CJCSC in all his official engagements.

The successful visit of CJCSC General Zubair Mahmood Hayat proved yet another milestone in the way of deepening defence relations between the two friendly countries. The cordial defence ties between Pakistan and Brazil have witnessed high level visits of military leadership, military training exchange programmes and cooperation in the fields of defence, public and cyber security. Brazilian Joint Chief of Armed Forces, Admiral Ademir Sobrinho paid an official visit to Pakistan in 2018.

Brasilia
10 May 2019