IN the bilateral relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom has consistently shown willingness to assist Pakistan in various fields. Amid the current economic crisis, the Kingdom has once again extended its full support for Pakistan’s economic revival. Following a meeting between the Pakistani Prime Minister and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman (MBS) on April 8, 2024, a high-level delegation from Saudi Arabia, led by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud, visited Pakistan. During the two-day visit, key areas of economic cooperation were discussed, with a focus on potential Saudi investment in identified sectors. As agreed between the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the Kingdom has a plan to invest approximately $25 billion in Pakistan over a five-year period. This investment will be directed towards mutually agreed fields such as energy, IT, minerals, defence and agriculture sectors under the Special Investment Facilitation Council.
The Foreign Office of Pakistan has characterized the visit of the Saudi delegation as very successful with a long-lasting impact on the economy of Pakistan. “Both sides held exhaustive deliberative sessions at a functional level to crystallize investment opportunities in Pakistan. The Saudi side expressed great significance and interest in improving the investment ecosystem in Pakistan, appreciated SIFC’s role in the amicable resolution of the kingdom’s legacy investment/business related issues, and evinced keen interest to invest in key sectors of Pakistan.” Pakistan assured the Kingdom for its dedicated and uninterrupted support in the process of Saudi investment. In fact, Pak-Saudi relationship is based on a solid foundation of spiritualism and Islamic philosophy with a people centric approach hence; steadfast, resolute and deep-rooted. The state to state relationship developed from the solid basis of divine connections and people-centric bondage. This is unique in the world with no parallel elsewhere.
Going by chronology, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia established their bilateral relationship soon after Pakistan came into being in 1947. This beginning of relations between the two Muslim countries was based on a solid foundation of Islamic ideology. Since Pakistan came into being, based on Islamic ideology and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was protecting, maintaining and indeed taking extreme care of two holiest places of Islam; the Holy Mosque (Kaaba Tullah) and Masjid al-Nabawi therefore a unanimity of religious norms and values further deepened this bilateral relationship. Indeed, Muslims of the sub-continent had deep religious affiliation with their holy places, protected and secured by the Kingdom.
Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia signed a “Treaty of Friendship” in 1951. This treaty, in fact, laid the formal basis for the bilateral relationship between these two Muslim brothers. Apart from cooperation between the two, this Treaty of Friendship devised a mechanism for political, diplomatic, cultural, economic and religious relationship between the Kingdom and Pakistan. Based on this, bilateral relations “were buttressed over the coming decades by a tradition of strong financial and strategic assistance extended to each other by the two brotherly countries whenever required.” Upon taking over the power in 2015, King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz reiterated his relationship with Pakistan at all levels: the political, strategic, economic, cultural and people to people. Under King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman (MBS) there has been revitalization in the Saudi Kingdom at political, military, economic and cultural levels in the last five years.
The Kingdom has been reformed under the vision of MBS, which aims at bringing elements of moderation to Saudi society, a futuristic approach to education, pluralism and a corruption-free environment. During King Salman’s reign, Saudi Arabia has faced challenges such as the Yemen war, the crisis in Iran-Saudi relations, internal militancy, the Syrian crisis, conflicts involving major powers in the Arabian Gulf, the modernization of the Saudi armed forces, and, most significantly, the harmonization of Saudi civil society. While keeping his son, Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, at the forefront, King Salman is tackling all these challenges with foresight and great prudence.
In the bilateral relationship between Pakistan and the Kingdom, Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki, the Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan, has made unparalleled services and contributions. He played a commendable role in advancing, strengthening and revitalizing the bilateral relationship between Riyadh and Islamabad. He acted as a pivot in the bilateral relations of both brotherly countries and in effectively resolving misperceptions created from time to time. He played a key role in the visit of the Saudi Defence Minister as Chief Guest on March 23, 2024 (Pak Day Parade) and the current visit of the Saudi delegation under Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud. Due to his magnanimous personality and commitment to the Pak-Saudi relationship, Ambassador Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki is highly popular among the people of Pakistan, media circles, military and political circles, as well as the academic community of Pakistan.
During the visit of the Saudi delegation, both sides finalized a bilateral implementation mechanism for the efficient implementation of the Saudi investment plan. While both sides are working out the modalities for the implementation of this multi-billion-dollar Saudi investment, its formal launching is expected during the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sometime later. Pak-Saudi relationship is likely to further boost as a result of this Saudi investment. Saudi Arabia has always supported Pakistan at crucial times. Both share their concerns over regional and international issues through the bond of bilateralism. During the era of King Salman and Crown Prince MBS, this relationship has further cemented to make a new history of bilateral cooperation at the political, military, economic and cultural levels.
— The writer is Professor of Politics and IR at International Islamic University, Islamabad.
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