ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN, AUG 17 – Pakistan and China have signed two agreements on defence cooperation and military assistance at the end of the 4th Round of Defence and Security Talks held at Joint Staff Headquarters, Rawalpindi, says an official statement. The talks were led by General Ehsanul Haq, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from the Pakistani side while Lieutenant General Zhang Qin Sheng, Assistant to Chief of General Staff People’s Liberation Army (PLA) led the talks from the Chinese side. The two sides expressed satisfaction over the progress made so far and shared a commonality of perception on all important regional and international issues. Following the parleys, Major General Tariq Salim Malik, Additional Secretary Ministry of Defence Production,and Major General Jia Xiaoning, Deputy Director General of Foreign Affairs Office, Ministry of National Defence and China, signed the agreements on behalf of their respective governments. The agreements would come into force from the date of the signing to include cooperation in the field of defence and security and military assistance to the Armed Forces of Pakistan. The Pak-China Defence and Security Talks is the highest common forum between the two Armed Forces and are held alternatively in China and Pakistan in order to identify further areas of cooperation and mutual assistance. The First Round was held in March 2002 in Pakistan, when Chairman Joint Chiefs Staff Committee led the talks from the Pakistan side while the Deputy Chief General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army led the Chinese side. The next round of talks will be held in 2007 in China.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/383374