Strengthening ties between the Pakistani and South African air forces in line with bilateral military co-operation programmes is topping the agenda during Air Chief Marshall Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu’s six-day visit.
He and his entourage were met at the flagship SAAF transport base – Waterkloof – by South African Air Force (SAAF) Chief, Lieutenant General Wiseman Mbambo, after touching down in a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Bombardier Global Express (J-758).
The high level PAF visit is the second to see a Chief of Air Staff call on the SAAF three-star this year. The first was India’s Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, in May.
Both the Sidhu and Chaudhari visits were reported by SAAF communication personnel as being to strengthen military ties and co-operation.
First stop for the PAF delegation was the SAAF College in Thaba Tshwane and then on to Bays Hill and the SAAF Memorial, north of what is now the Air Force Mobile Deployment Wing (AF MDW), previously Air Force Base (AFB) Swartkop, the oldest operational base in the SAAF inventory.
The first day of the visit (29 July) was given over to what Corporal Sherildean Mamba reported as “activities designed to strengthen the collaborative ties between the two countries”. She reported further Sidhu’s visit as being of “great significance” to both countries but did not elaborate on his itinerary.
By contrast the Chaudhari visit in May listed stops at all three SAAF bases – Langebaanweg, Overberg and Ysterplaat – in the Western Cape province with a special mention for the SAAF Museum at Ysterplaat.
