PM Shehbaz departs for Saudi Arabia on 3-day visit

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday left for a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, where he will be accompanied by the Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir.

Apart from CDF Munir, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, and Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi will also accompany the premier on the visit. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, who is currently in Saudi Arabia after concluding a visit to Jordan, will be part of the delegation as well. The premier will also perform Umrah and visit Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) mosque in Madina during the visit, the government said. Earlier, FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi announced the visit in a weekly briefing. “During the visit, the prime minister will meet the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and discussions will focus on consolidating the Pakistan-Saudi bilateral relationship and exchange views on areas of regional and international developments of mutual interests,” he said. He stressed that the visit marked Pakistan’s “long-standing partnership” with Saudi Arabia, which he said was “anchored in decades of mutual trust, cooperation and brotherhood”. Andrabi noted that while the visit was taking place amid heightened tensions in the Gulf, he said that “it will carry immense significance beyond the immediate crisis and short-term considerations”. He added that the visit will “further strengthen bilateral relations, deepen strategic cooperation, enhance coordination on regional and international issues of mutual interest and also reinforce multilateral cooperation”. Shortly after, an official statement regarding the visit was also issued.