Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Admiral Naveed Ashraf, addressed the participants of 25^th National Security Workshop (NSW) at Naval Headquarters, Islamabad. CNS emphasized that maritime sector holds enormous potential for Pakistan’s economy. He said that Pakistan’s maritime zones have large deposits of natural resources, which can enormously contribute to strengthen Pakistan’s economy. He said that Pakistan Navy, besides providing impregnable defense of Pakistan’s maritime frontiers, also contributes towards the development of maritime sector. However, in order to exploit full maritime potential of Pakistan, private sector needs to invest in maritime related industries and can enormously benefit from it. Naval Chief highlighted that we need to increase Pakistan’s flag carriers, particularly in the private sector, which will save significant foreign exchange presently being paid to foreign shipping companies as freight charges. While highlighting the challenge of marine pollution, he said that it is a clear and present danger for Pakistan and needs to be addressed on an urgent basis.

Earlier, the participants were briefed on Pakistan Navy’s challenges and responses including its contributions towards the development of maritime sector.
The workshop participants led by Director General Institute of Strategic Studies and Research Analysis (ISSRA), Major General Raza Aizad, comprised of parliamentarians, politicians, bureaucrats, armed forces officers as well as representatives from academia and business community. The participants highly appreciated Pakistan Navy’s efforts and proposed valuable suggestions to the Naval Chief.