Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is going on a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia today. The visit —his fourth visit to the kingdom this year— comes just weeks after he and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed the mutual defence agreement.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will on Monday depart for a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia. This will be his fourth visit to the kingdom this year and comes just weeks after he and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia mutual defence agreement.
Shehbaz will lead a high-level delegation to Saudi Arabia and attend the ninth edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII9) at Riyadh, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said in a statement.
“During his stay, the Prime Minister will engage with the Saudi leadership to explore avenues for enhanced cooperation in the trade, investment, energy, and human resource sectors. The discussions will also cover regional and global issues of mutual interest and concern,” the statement further said.
Lately, the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relationship has been on an upward trajectory. Saudi Arabia has been investing massively in Pakistan and the country has in turn committed its military to the kingdom’s defence.
Under their mutual defence agreement, Pakistan will deploy 25,000 soldiers with armour and artillery, two air force squadrons, and two naval fleets to Saudi Arabia, and the kingdom will invest $10 billion across many sectors in Pakistan to shore up the cash-strapped nation’s economy, according to CNN-News 18.
Saudi Arabia on investment spree in Pakistan
The Shehbaz-led high-level delegation’s visit to Saudi Arabia comes just two weeks after a Saudi delegation visited Pakistan and signed a number of deals.
On October 8, Shehbaz hosted a Saudi delegation at the PM House. The visit saw deals for Punjab, the seat of power in Pakistan and the base of Sharif family.
During the visit, Prince Mansour Bin Mohammed of the Saudi royal family signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Pakistani energy utility company K-Electric.
Earlier this month, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif announced the establishment of tax-free Special Saudi Industrial Estate in the province to strengthen foreign investment and expand economic cooperation between Pakistan and the kingdom, according to The Express Tribune.
Separately, CNN-News 18 reported that Saudi Arabia will invest $10 billion in Pakistan’s infrastructure, economy, mining, energy, and security sectors. These investments are intended to shield Pakistan from economic instability in the future.
As part of the mutual defence pact, Saudi Arabia also has plans to increase bilateral trade with Pakistan from $5 billion to $15 billion annually across all sectors, according to the report.
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