ISLAMABAD, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Afghan Defense Minister General Bismillah Khan Muhammadi on Monday held talks with Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and discussed defense cooperation, the military said.
The Afghan defense minister, leading a six-member high-level defense delegation, arrived in Pakistan on Sunday for talks on defense cooperation and border coordination to boost anti-terror cooperation between the two countries.
On the first of official engagement the Afghan delegation visited the army's headquarters in Rawalpindi near Islamabad and laid the wreath at "Yadgar-e-Shuhada" or martyrs memorial built to pay homage to those who sacrificed lives in the war on terror.
During the meeting with the army's General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the two sides discussed matters of professional interest, with particular focus on enhancing defense cooperation and measures that Afghan National Army and Pakistan Army intend to take for an enduring training relationship, the army said.
A statement from the army said that the operationalization of the recent agreement on Tripartite Border Standing Operating Procedures was also discussed in detail.
The agreement is aimed at improving existing security cooperation and intelligence sharing mechanisms between the two countries.
During his five-day visit, the Afghan defense minister will meet top civil and military leaders, military sources said.
The delegation will also visit various defense institutions including the National Defense University in Islamabad where the Afghan defense minister will speak to the Pakistani army officers.
Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani extended invitation to the Afghan defense minister during his visit to Kabul in November last year.
Sources said that the cross-border attacks will also come under discussion as it had been a source of tension between the two countries in recent months.
The two sides are likely to discuss a roadmap that Afghanistan has already handed over to Pakistan about the future set-up after the 2014 NATO withdrawal, they said.
Defense officials are expected to discuss the proposed Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) between the two countries. Pakistan had handed over a draft of the SPA to Afghan foreign minister when he visited Islamabad last month.
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