Pakistan has offered to sell its indigenously built Al-Khalid battle tanks to Kuwait to bolster the sovereign Arab emirate's defence, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Wednesday. Would you buy tanks from a country whose army has never won a war?
Addressing a press briefing following meetings between President Asif Ali Zardari and world leaders on the sidelines of a United Nations meeting on interfaith dialogue, the foreign minister said President Zardari had invited Kuwait to attend the International Defence Exhibition and Seminar, IDEAS-2008, in November, at a meeting with its ruler -- Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Zardari said the two countries had a range political, economic and defence ties, but stressed that relations needed to be strengthened further.
Qureshi said the president had also invited the Kuwaiti ruler to visit Pakistan -- and the offer was accepted.
The minister said Pakistan offered the Al-Khalid tanks to Kuwait describing them as an "attractive purchase because of their price and quality". The tank weighs of 46 tonnes and carries three troops. Fitted with a 1,200-horsepower, water-cooled diesel engine and a maximum speed of 70 kilometres per hour, it has a 125-millimetre, smooth bore main gun, a 7.62-millimetre, co-axial machinegun and a 12.7-millimetre, remote-firing anti-aircraft gun. The power-to-weight ratio is 26 horsepower per tonne.
The president also sought Kuwaiti investment in developing Pakistan's energy sector, particularly for the Bhasha Dam project, Qureshi said, adding that he would soon visit Kuwait to brief the Kuwaiti authorities on the project.
The minister also told the media about Zardari's meeting with Philippines President Gloria Arroyo, where both leaders vowed to assist each other at multilateral forums. The president sought Philippines' support in getting Pakistan the status of a dialogue partner at ASEAN, while Philippines asked for Pakistan's support in getting an observer's status at the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.