E-Paper
Saudi foreign minister eyes mending ties during Pakistan visit tomorrow
Pakistan’s ties with Saudi Arabia came under strain when Islamabad refused to send troops for the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen in 2015. Pakistan is also unhappy regarding the Gulf nation's bonhomie with India.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud is scheduled to visit Pakistan on Tuesday to meet the country’s leadership on bilateral and global issues, Islamabad said on Monday. The Saudi minister’s visit is aimed at boosting bilateral ties with Pakistan which has been under stress in recent times, according to a report by news agency PTI.
Al Saud will be accompanied by a delegation of senior officials of the Saudi government, the Pakistan foreign office said. Al Saud’s trip follows months after Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s visit to Saudi Arabia in a bid to mend ties. The meeting came after Prince Bin Salman called up Khan in March and invited him for a visit.
Al Saud is also expected to meet his counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi and exchange views on the entire gamut of bilateral relations along with discussions on regional and international issues. Pakistan’s ties with Saudi Arabia came under strain when Islamabad refused to send troops for the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen in 2015.
Pakistan has also expressed its displeasure with the growing bonhomie between Saudi Arabia and India. Pakistan’s difference with Saudi came into open after it pulled out of a summit of Muslim leaders in Malaysia in 2019 as Saudi Arabia was not part of it. Islamabad saw it as an effort to create a rival group of non-Arab Muslim countries. It also returned $3 billion to Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of the summit fallout. Qureshi also criticised the Saudi government for failing to organise a meeting of OIC foreign ministers on the Kashmir issue.
“It will provide a timely opportunity to review progress in bilateral cooperation in line with the vision of the leadership of the two countries. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have long-standing and historic fraternal relations, rooted deep in common faith, shared history and mutual support,” Pakistan’s foreign office said in reference to Saudi foreign minister’s upcoming visit.
The visit also comes amid the worsening situation in Afghanistan where the Taliban is aiming to take control of the nation as US and NATO troops are scheduled to withdraw completely by the end of August. Pakistan said that the visit of the Saudi foreign minister will reinforce the positive momentum in high-level exchanges and deepen bilateral cooperation across several fields. Ahead of the visit, 62 Pakistani prisoners were repatriated from Saudi Arabia via a special flight, according to news agency Dawn.
(with inputs from PTI)
