DNA Karachi, 11 Feb: Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi visited foreign ships of navies participating in 8th Multinational Naval Exercise AMAN-23. Upon his arrival on board foreign visiting ships, the Naval Chief was warmly welcomed by Senior Officers/ Commanding Officers and was presented Guard of Honour by smartly dressed out contingents. During the visits, the Naval Chief interacted with Senior Officers/ Commanding Officers and was given briefings on board ships. The Naval Chief highlighted that Pakistan is effectively contributing in peace and stability in the region. AMAN Exercise demonstrates Pakistan’s commitment to peace, reinforce regional maritime security and enhance interoperability between regional and extra regional navies. The Admiral appreciated their participation in AMAN Exercise to fulfill common resolve of “Together for Peace”. The Senior Officers/ Commanding Officers of the respective ships highly acknowledged the persistent efforts of Pakistan Navy to bring global navies towards shared commitment of maritime peace, stability and lawful order at sea.

Besides, the Naval Chief also called on Cdr DJIBOUTI Navy and Coast Guard seperately, Cdr Lebanese Navy, Flag Officer Commanding Naval Doctrine Command Nigerian Navy, Flag Officer Commanding Sri Lankan Naval Fleet and Cdr Tanzanian Navy. On the side line of PIMEC, the three days International Maritime Conference (IMC) was organized on the theme of ‘Embracing Blue Economy – Challenges and Opportunities for Developing Countries’ by National Institute of Maritime Affairs (NIMA) under the auspices of Pakistan Navy. The conference is being held in tandem with Pakistan International Maritime Expo & Conference (PIMEC) and 8th Multinational Naval Exercise AMAN 2023. Eminent international and national scholars from China, Germany, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, UK and USA are participating in the three days conference and will share their thoughts on the dynamic theme. Additionally, majority of international scholars are also joining the Conference online. The second day of the IMC was divided into two Sessions (four sub-sessions). In the First Session, Dr. AnuarLiporado Bin Abdullah from Ocean Quest Global Malaysia, Dr. ZafarUllahJattak from LUAWMS Baluchistan, Engr Faisal Iftikhar, CEO Deep Blue Sea Food and Mr. Saeed Sarparah, CEO Baluchistan Board of Investment & Trade emphasized over various topics under the theme of ‘Impact of Innovation on Sustainable Blue Economy’. While, Dr. David Middlemiss from Wallingford Group UK, Mr. Jawed Iqbal CEO Shoib Shipping Agency, Mr. UsmanMunir from KOTUG, Dr. Jian Ling from Southern University of Science & Technology China and Engr Captain (Retd) Ibrahim from AKSU deliberated on the theme ‘ Challenges to Marine Industries & Contemporary Scientific Developments’. During the Second Session, Mr. Muhammad Irfan Tariq Former DG MoCC, Mr. Muhammad Amjad from Global Climate Change Impact Studies Centre, Mr. MahmoodAkhtarCheema from Country Rep IUCM and Dr. AsifInam from BUKC pondered upon the theme of ‘ Impact of Climate Change on the Marine Environment’. Besides, Dr. Josh L Breithaupt from Florida University USA, Dr. Abed El RahmanHassoun from Germany, Dr. Ying Wu from China and Dr. SaminaKidwai DG NIO contemplated upon various aspects of ‘Ocean Bio-Geo Sciences and Marine Technologies’. The second Day of International Maritime Conference was attended by a large number of dignitaries from across the globe, Officers from Defence Forces of Pakistan and friendly countries, academia, media representatives and researchers from local and international think tanks. International Maritime Conference will continue till 12 Feb 23 and would cover the thoughts of distinguished International and National scholars.