A Saudi team, lead by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, arrived in Pakistan on Monday on a two-day visit.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met the team as they landed at Rawalpindi’s Nur Khan Air Base.
The delegation also includes Saudi Minister of Water and Agriculture Abdul Rahman Abdul Mohsen Al-Fadley, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Ibrahim Al Khorayef, Deputy Minister of Investment Badr Al Badr, the head of the Saudi Special Committee, Mohammad Mazyed Al Towaijri, and senior officials from the Ministry of Energy and the Saudi Fund for General Investments.
The visit is intended to speed up work on the agreement struck by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman at their recent meeting in Makkah to strengthen bilateral economic ties.
The two had agreed to expedite the first phase of a $5 billion Saudi investment package in Pakistan.
The Saudi team is scheduled to meet with the president, prime minister, foreign minister, corresponding ministers, the army chief, and the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).
According to a statement issued by state-run Pakistan Television, the timing of the visit is “very important” and the Saudi team’s arrival itself is a “manifestation of mental harmony, mutual trust and cooperation between the leadership of both countries and the same determination for the development of both countries”.
It stated that the delegation will consult on the next stages of investment as well as execution difficulties.
According to the statement, export capacity will expand, joint ventures will be established, new possibilities will be created, and the SIFC’s aims will be advanced, as will the economy’s speed and confidence.
“Pakistan’s diplomatic isolation of the past few years has ended.
Maria Ghanchi