China agrees to provide fighters to Pak navy -- port

China agrees to provide fighters to Pak navy -- port
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Islamabad, July 30: China has agreed to provide four multi-purpose fighter planes to Pakistan Navy, a newspaper reported today.

"The agreement to this effect was hammered out during the recent visit to China by Pakistan navy chief Admiral Abdul Aziz Mirza," the Frontier Post quoted an official of the Ministry of Defence as saying.

A delegation from the Chinese Navy will visit Pakistan shortly to finalise the matter.

"China is also exporting the technology to manufacture planes so that Pakistan can manufacture the planes locally in the future," sources said.

The Super-7 supersonic bomber being manufactured with Pak-China cooperation would be ready for a test flight in the beginning of next year. "This aircraft will be equivalent to F-16 in speed and other capabilities," it added.

They said that Pakistan and China have agreed to expand cooperation in the defence and science sectors. Both have expressed satisfaction over the existing level of mutual cooperation in different sectors and have agreed to expand it.

"China has assured Pakistan that our solidarity and protection of our bilateral interests will continue to hold central importance in China's foreign policy," sources said.

China's deputy minister for science and technology is scheduled to visit Pakistan with a high-powered delegation in the first week of August and will talk to Pakistani authorities on further promotion of cooperation in the science and defence sectors.