ISLAMABAD: In an interview with Arab News, Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan, Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki said Saudi Arabia was concerned about India’s move to abolish special status for Kashmir and wanted the dispute to be settled in accordance with international resolutions.
On August 5th, India blocked the right of the state of Jammu and Kashmir to frame its own laws and permitted non-residents to buy property there. Telephone lines, Internet and television networks have been blocked there since, and there are restrictions on movement and assembly despite reports of large-scale protests.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ... has noticed with concern the developments in the current situation in Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir resulting from India’s abolition of Article 370 of its Constitution,” Al-Malki told Arab News.
“Saudi Arabia reaffirms the right of all people to freedom, dignity, and self-determination, including the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and considers that the settlement of disputes is through peaceful manners ... in accordance with relevant international resolutions,” Al-Malki said, and called upon all parties to take into account the “interests of the population of the region.”
He said Saudi Arabia had first reacted to the revocation of Kashmir’s special status by hosting an urgent Islamic summit in Jeddah to discuss India’s decision in order to “defuse tension, maintain security, peace, and stability in the region and ensure legitimate rights.”
Saudi Arabia wants Kashmir dispute settled through international resolutions: envoy
Saudi Arabia wants Kashmir dispute settled through international resolutions: envoy
- The Kingdom reacted to the revocation of Kashmir’s special status by hosting an urgent Islamic summit in Jeddah
- Saudi envoy says his country believes in the right of all people to freedom, dignity and self-determination, including the people of Kashmir
Pakistan begins talks with Saudi delegation on local vaccine manufacturing
- Health ministry has warned vaccine import costs could rise from $400 million to $1.2 billion by 2031
- Local vaccine manufacturing would strengthen health security and help conserve foreign exchange
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday formally began discussions with a high-level Saudi delegation on establishing local vaccine manufacturing, as Islamabad seeks to reduce import dependence and prepare for the eventual end of international funding support for its national immunization program.
The talks come amid Pakistan’s broader push to strengthen health security and industrial capacity. The country of more than 240 million people currently imports all vaccines used in its national immunization campaigns, relying heavily on international partners to help cover costs.
Officials say local vaccine manufacturing would not only strengthen health security but also help conserve foreign exchange and support Pakistan’s longer-term economic stability as the country looks to cut costly imports and build export-oriented industrial capacity.
According to the Ministry of National Health Services, the eleven-member Saudi delegation is led by Nizar Al-Hariri, senior adviser to Saudi Arabia’s minister of industry, and is visiting Pakistan as part of efforts to deepen bilateral cooperation in health, pharmaceutical manufacturing and industrial collaboration.
“Practical progress is being made toward the local production of vaccines for 13 diseases in Pakistan,” the health ministry said in a statement, quoting Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal who met the delegation in Islamabad.
Pakistani officials presented detailed briefings on current vaccine demand, existing infrastructure and production capacity.
“Collaboration between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in the health sector will set an example for the entire region,” the ministry said.
Kamal told the visiting delegation Pakistan is the world’s fifth most populous country, with around 6.2 million children born each year, adding that the country’s annual population growth is roughly equivalent to the population of New Zealand.
He said the government currently provides vaccines for 13 diseases free of cost but does not manufacture any of them domestically, forcing Pakistan to import vaccines at an annual cost of about $400 million.
According to the ministry, international partners currently cover 49 percent of those costs, with the remainder borne by the Pakistani government. However, Kamal warned that this external support is expected to end after 2031.
“If vaccines are not manufactured locally, the annual cost could rise to $1.2 billion by 2031, which would place a heavy burden on the national economy,” the ministry quoted him as saying.
Pakistan regularly conducts nationwide immunization campaigns against diseases including polio, measles, rubella and hepatitis. This week, it launched a seven-day polio vaccination drive aimed at inoculating more than 45 million children.
