Crown Prince commit to ‘fortify
upward trajectory’ in bilateral relations
Staff Reporter Islamabad
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday termed Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Saudi Arabia as highly productive.
“Talks between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were marked by warmth and cordiality,” FM Qureshi said while talking to the media in Jeddah.
Referring to the important agreements signed with Saudi Arabia, the FM said that under one agreement, the kingdom would provide $500 million to Pakistan from the Saudi Development Fund to be used for the development of infrastructure, water resources, hydropower projects in Pakistan.
“A Saudi delegation will visit Pakistan after Eid to discuss matters pertaining to the visit of the Saudi crown prince and the foreign minister to Pakistan,” he added.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhary said the warm welcome accorded to the premier on arrival in Jeddah by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman was the manifestation of their good personal relations.
“Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are two brothers and their relationship is based on mutual respect and confidence,” the information minister said in a tweet.
He added that the PM’s visit would further provide impetus to the longstanding relations between the two countries and open new vistas of cooperation.
Meanwhile, Ministery of Foreign Affairs in a statement issued on Saturday, said
that Prime Minister Imran Khan and Crown Prince His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman have affirmed their commitment to fortify the ‘upward trajectory’ in Pakistan-Saudi Arabia bilateral relations.
The prime minister met the crown prince in Jeddah and held wide-ranging talks on bilateral, regional and international issues.
“The talks were marked by exceptional cordiality and a commitment to fortify the upward trajectory in the bilateral relationship.”
The two sides also agreed upon further deepening cooperation in all fields.
The communique added that the prime minister conveyed sincere regards to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and thanked the crown prince for his gracious invitation to him to visit the kingdom.
The premier expressed his gratitude for affording him the opportunity to visit the two Holy Mosques during the special days of Ramazan.
“The two leaders reaffirmed the strong and historic bonds between the two countries rooted firmly in shared beliefs, common values, mutual trust and longstanding tradition of mutual support,” the press release added.
The prime minister reiterated Pakistan’s abiding support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the kingdom and expressed special reverence accorded to the Land of the Two Holy Mosques by the people of Pakistan.
The press release further stated that during the meeting, it was agreed to further strengthen, deepen and diversify the existing bilateral political, economic, trade, defence and security ties.
Special emphasis was laid on increasing Saudi investments in Pakistan, collaboration in the field of energy, and increased job opportunities for Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia, the MoFA stated.
PM Imran appreciated the crown prince’s recently launched “Green Saudi Arabia and Green Middle East” initiatives and hoped to build upon the synergies between the vision of the crown prince and his own environment-related initiatives including the “10 Billion Trees Tsunami”.
Acknowledging the positive and constructive role of more than two million Pakistani diasporas in the kingdom, the two leaders discussed ways to maximize mutual benefit from cooperation in the human resource sector, said MoFA in the press release.
