Rome meets Islamabad. Bilateral to Segredifesa
The bilateral defense-themed meeting between the Italian secretary general of defense, Luciano Portolano, and the secretary of the ministry of defense for production of Pakistan, Humayun Aziz, concluded in Rome. At the center is strengthening the security of industrial collaborations in the field, so as to also support the country in the difficult moment it is going through due to the consequences of climate change
The bilateral meeting between Italy and Pakistan dedicated to the defense sector took place in Rome, at the Segredifesa headquarters. The Secretary General of Defense and National Director of Armaments, Luciano Portolanoreceived the Secretary of the Ministry of Defense for the production of Pakistan, Humayun Aziz, visiting Italy for the 14th Meeting of the Joint Commission on Defense Systems between the two countries. Interview following the one with the Undersecretary of Defense, Stefania Pucciarelli, on the occasion of which a point was made on the advanced level of cooperation reached on the industrial and military materials level. In, the undersecretary had assured “the national willingness to evaluate, in particular, further programs for the transfer of material no longer in use by the Italian Defense” and Aziz had shown himself willing to further evolve the cooperation between Rome and Islamabad also with the aiming to favor Pakistan’s penetration into the global market for the sector, starting from the regional context in which it is inserted.
Focus on cooperation
The previous meeting between Italy and Pakistan took place in the Pakistani capital in November last year and since then more than half of the activities carried out have been successfully completed. This result is also possible thanks to the work and constant comparison between the working groups of both countries, as well as to the synergies implemented with the Italian industrial sector of Defense, with realities such as Leonardo, Mbda Italia, Elettronica, Fincantieri, Aiad, Rheinmetall Italia and Beretta Arms Factory. The 14th bilateral event focused on continuing and further strengthening this cooperation. In particular, issues such as maintaining the efficiency of the equipment supplied to the Pakistani Defense, supplied by Italian industries in all operational domains, or some existing possibilities in the context of industrial collaborations in the field of small arms, electronic war and shipbuilding. In this strategic and far-reaching perspective, General Portolano also recognized “the role that Pakistan plays in the complex regional context and in the delicate stabilization process of Afghanistan, highlighting, in particular, the position that the Asian country assumes in the international community. as a regional actor, with a foreign policy open to cooperation with China, albeit with important relations with the United States and the European Union ”. It should be noted that since 2017 Pakistan has also been a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the geostrategic alliance that includes some Central Asian countries, whose fears reverberate on issues of security and threats caused by international terrorism.
An unstable economic framework
During the interview, references could not be missing to the terrible situation that the subsequent disastrous floods that have recently hit its territories are experiencing. In September, the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) published a balance sheet of the environmental crisis that hit Pakistan: in two months about 1200 people died, 4900 injured, 7.5 million people hectares of land flooded, in addition to 5 thousand kilometers of roads and more than 436 thousand homes destroyed. A dramatic picture that also affects the economic-financial dimension, with an increase in that has negative consequences on the industrial fabric, including that of Defense. For this reason, the meetings in the capital can represent a significant stimulus for cooperation and dialogue between the Pakistani defense and the Italian aerospace, defense and security industry.
(Photo: Segredifesa)