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Saudi crown prince arrives in country today
* Prince Salman accompanied by a delegation of Saudi businessmen
APP
ISLAMABAD: Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud will arrive here today (Saturday) on a three-day visit to further enhance and strengthen brotherly relations between the two countries and discuss regional situation.
Giving details of the visit, Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said the crown prince, who is also deputy prime minister and minister of defence of Saudi Arabia, is visiting Pakistan on the invitation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. She said the crown prince would be leading a high-level delegation including Dr Mohammed bin Sulaiman Al-Jasser, Minister of Economy and Planning, Dr Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al Rabiah, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Dr Abdul Aziz bin Mohieddin Khuja, Minister for Culture and Information and Dr Nizar Bin Obaid Madani, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs besides a large number of Saudi businessmen.
She said the crown prince’s visit is of special significance since it would be his first visit to Pakistan after assuming this position. She said Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud had visited Pakistan in 1998 as governor of Riyadh. The spokesperson said during the visit, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud would hold talks with the president and the prime minister on bilateral and international matters of mutual interest.
Among other senior dignitaries, the minister for defence, the minister for finance, the speaker of the National Assembly, the adviser to the prime minister on national security and foreign affairs and the chief of army staff would be calling on the crown prince of Saudi Arabia during his stay in Pakistan.
The spokesperson said this visit would give a new impetus to the existing fraternal bonds between the two countries and it would provide a good opportunity to explore ways and means for further strengthening cooperation in diverse areas of mutual interest particularly in expanding and enhancing investments and trade.
In this context, she said the accompanying Saudi businessmen would meet their Pakistani counterpart. She said the two sides would also discuss ways to increase export of Pakistani manpower to Saudi Arabia and to facilitate the Pakistani community residing in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She said there was a large Pakistani community of approximately 1.5 million in Saudi Arabia which served as a bridge between the two brotherly countries and played a positive role in the development of Saudi Arabia as well as Pakistan’s economy through annual remittances of over four billion dollars.
The Saudi Crown Prince would also discuss regional situation, especially the Afghan issue with the Pakistani leadership, she added. She said Pakistani forces were imparting training to Saudi forces and Saudi Arabia has made known its intention to buy arms from Pakistan. Replying to a question she said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were not cooperating in nuclear technology in any way.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk