In the morning of 11^th January 2013, the Force Commander of the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR), Rear Admiral Pedro García de Paredes held a meeting on board his flagship ESPS Méndez Núnez with the Commander of the Combined Maritime counter-piracy task force, Commodore Muhammad Hisham SI (Pakistan Navy).

Commodore Hisham and Rear Admiral García de Paredes had a very fruitful discussion about the current piracy situation off Somalia and they shared their thoughts regarding the common effort against piracy.

Speaking during the visit, Rear Admiral García de Paredes stated “I am delighted to see the on-going cooperation and coordination between our two counter-piracy task forces.  This common effort has certainly paid dividends during the past year and contributed to a significant drop in pirate attacks.  We will continue to work together to help eradicate piracy and bring greater security to the seas off Somalia”.