Pakistan and China have agreed to a multi-billion dollar deal under which Beijing provide eight submarines to the Pakistan Navy, according to a report in the local media on Friday.
“Pakistan and China have reached an understanding on matters of defence cooperation relating to Pakistan Navy,” the Finance Ministry announced after a meeting with Chinese authorities on Thursday. “Financial arrangements to this effect were also concluded.”
According to the Express Tribune report, the Defence Ministry had briefed the parliament in April this year that Pakistan was negotiating a deal for acquisition of submarines from China. In the same month, the UK-based Financial Times, citing a retired senior official, claimed in a report that the contract could be worth $4 billion to $5 billion, the largest defence deal ever by China.
According to the report, Pakistan would make down payments to China in four installments and the delivery of the submarines will be made in the coming years.
The financial arrangements were agreed during a meeting between Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Xu Ziqin, president of the Chinese state-owned China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Company Limited (CSOC).
