New Delhi: India and Pakistan on Thursday conducted their annual exchange of lists detailing nuclear installations and facilities, adhering to a long-standing bilateral agreement designed to prevent attacks on such sites.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed the exchange took place simultaneously through diplomatic channels in New Delhi and Islamabad.

The move is mandated by the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities, which was signed on Dec. 31, 1988, and officially came into force on Jan. 27, 1991. Under the terms of the pact, both nations are required to inform one another of their nuclear assets on the first of January each year.

"India and Pakistan today exchanged, through diplomatic channels, simultaneously at New Delhi and Islamabad, the list of Nuclear Installations and facilities, covered under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities between India and Pakistan," the MEA said in a statement.

This marks the 35th consecutive year the two South Asian neighbours have shared this information, a practice that began on Jan. 1, 1992. Despite periods of high diplomatic tension, the annual swap remains one of the few consistent confidence-building measures between the nuclear-armed rivals.

With inputs from ANI