ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit Saudi Arabia next week, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to Arab News on Thursday.
“It’ll be either on Sept. 17-18 or Sept. 18-19. The details (of the visit) are being finalized,” said Dr. Mohammad Faisal, spokesperson for Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He said the prime minister will travel to Saudi Arabia with a small entourage, as per the government’s austerity drive.
Arab News learned that the agenda of his meetings with Saudi dignitaries was being finalized. The prime minister will discuss “financial support to Pakistan and the wellbeing of hundreds of thousands of Pakistani workers (in Saudi Arabia).”
The development comes just days after a three-day visit of Saudi Arabia’s Media Minister Dr. Awwad bin Saleh Al-Awwad to Islamabad, during which he held meetings with Imran Khan and other top civil-military leaders. The minister passed on greetings from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the prime minister and invited him to visit Saudi Arabia.
In his victory speech on July 26, Imran Khan said: “Saudi Arabia is a friend who has always stood by us in difficult times.”
King Salman, in a telephone call on Aug. 12, congratulated Imran Khan on his party’s victory in the country’s parliamentary elections.
Pakistan is an important ally of Saudi Arabia, King Salman had said, adding that Saudi Arabia wants to maintain cordial relations with the country. He extended an invitation to Imran Khan, who had accepted.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also telephoned Khan and expressed the Kingdom’s desire to invest heavily in the country to strengthen its trade and bilateral ties with Pakistan.
“Pakistan considers Saudi Arabia’s security to be of crucial importance and safety of the holy sites in the kingdom was part of their faith,” the PTI said in a statement after Khan spoke to King Salman.
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Imran Khan to visit Saudi Arabia next week, says Pakistan Foreign Ministry
Imran Khan to visit Saudi Arabia next week, says Pakistan Foreign Ministry
- It’ll be either on Sept. 17-18 or Sept. 18-19 — Dr. Mohammad Faisal
- The prime minister will travel with a small entourage, as per the government’s austerity drive
Pope receives Venezuela opposition’s Machado: Vatican
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo received Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at the Vatican on Monday, the Holy See said.
There were no details about the audience, with the Vatican publishing Machado’s name in a list of people received by the US pope Monday morning.
The Vatican did not immediately respond to an AFP request for more information about the meeting.
The papal audience came the same day as Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced that two Italians, Alberto Trentini and Mario Burlo, held since November 2024 in Venezuela, had been released and were on their way home.
Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in December, has been sidelined by Washington in the wake of the US intervention in Venezuela that toppled President Nicolas Maduro.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would meet Machado this week after previously saying she did not have the respect or support within Venezuela to lead.
Leo, 70, called for Venezuela’s sovereignty to be protected in a speech to diplomats on Friday.
The Chicago-born pope issued an appeal “to respect the will of the Venezuelan people, and to safeguard the human and civil rights of all” following the suggestion by US President Donald Trump that the US could control the South American country for years.
The Vatican’s chief diplomat Pietro Parolin, a former papal envoy to Venezuela, spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week.
The two discussed “efforts to improve the humanitarian situation, particularly in Venezuela,” the US Department of State said in a statement.
There were no details about the audience, with the Vatican publishing Machado’s name in a list of people received by the US pope Monday morning.
The Vatican did not immediately respond to an AFP request for more information about the meeting.
The papal audience came the same day as Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced that two Italians, Alberto Trentini and Mario Burlo, held since November 2024 in Venezuela, had been released and were on their way home.
Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in December, has been sidelined by Washington in the wake of the US intervention in Venezuela that toppled President Nicolas Maduro.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would meet Machado this week after previously saying she did not have the respect or support within Venezuela to lead.
Leo, 70, called for Venezuela’s sovereignty to be protected in a speech to diplomats on Friday.
The Chicago-born pope issued an appeal “to respect the will of the Venezuelan people, and to safeguard the human and civil rights of all” following the suggestion by US President Donald Trump that the US could control the South American country for years.
The Vatican’s chief diplomat Pietro Parolin, a former papal envoy to Venezuela, spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week.
The two discussed “efforts to improve the humanitarian situation, particularly in Venezuela,” the US Department of State said in a statement.
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