GIVEN the unique cordiality and warmth in their bilateral relationship, any top level visit from Pakistan to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) or vice versa always gains great importance and the people always eagerly see the outcome of their bilateral meetings.
The visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to the KSA and his meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammad Bin Salman provided yet another opportunity to the two sides to review the state of their bilateral relationship.
During the meeting, the two sides reportedly affirmed the commitment to further strengthen the fraternal bonds.
In his remarks, the Saudi Crown Prince termed Pak-Saudi relations important for the two countries, the region and for the world.
This is an indication of how much weight the Saudi leadership gives to Pakistan and its people.
The fact of the matter is that both the countries have always stood by each other in difficult times.
In recent devastating floods, Saudi Arabia established an air bridge to extend relief items to the flood victims.
Then most recently, it also extended financial support to Pakistan to help it overcome its economic woes.
Similarly, Pakistan has always been at the forefront to express commitment to the protection of integrity and sovereignty of the KSA.
Regardless of the strong bonds and trust level, we believe that both the countries have yet not exploited the potential of their economic cooperation.
During his last visit to Pakistan, the Saudi Crown Prince had announced a massive investment plan of twenty billion dollars which included mega projects including establishment of an oil refinery in Gwadar.
However, surprisingly there is no progress towards that end. Therefore, we will urge the two sides to work out a comprehensive economic partnership plan, and implementing the investment commitment made by the KSA back in 2019 will be a good beginning.
The mechanism that was established to monitor progress on the investment portfolio must be fully activated.
This in fact will enhance the level of engagement between the two sides which will also provide an opportunity to explore more avenues of cooperation.
