PM Khan meets Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan met with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his day-long visit to Riyadh on Saturday to discuss bilateral matters, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported. 
Earlier, accompanied by Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood, Khan arrived in Madinah and prayed at the Prophet’s mosque, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). Khan sent his salutations upon the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), before traveling onwards to Riyadh to meet with the Kingdom’s top leadership.
In February this year, Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman visited Pakistan for the first time in a much-celebrated tour, with Prime Minister Khan personally receiving and driving him from the airport after his arrival.
Khan is undertaking a daylong visit to Saudi Arabia to discuss regional and bilateral issues, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday.
In an earlier handout issued on Friday, the ministry said the visit was “part of the regular exchanges between the leadership of Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
“The consultations will cover bilateral matters and recent developments in the regional context,” the statement added.
In October, Khan visited Tehran before heading to Riyadh to focus on “peace and security in the region.” He also reiterated his offer to mediate during his visit to the 74th United Nations General Assembly summit this September, to ease the regional situation in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa is visiting Abu Dhabi, the military’s spokesperson Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor said in a Twitter post on Saturday.
The army chief met with Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, who is the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the tweet said and added that regional security and matters of mutual interest were discussed.
Khan’s trip follows Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s visit earlier this week to Riyadh where Qureshi held a meeting with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Farhan bin Abdullah, to review bilateral relations between the two countries and discuss the latest regional and international developments.
On Friday, during the weekly press briefing, foreign office spokesman, Dr. Mohammad Faisal, said in response to questions about Prime Minister Imran Khan’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia:
“You have witnessed the high frequency of leadership level exchanges especially since last August. The Prime Minister has undertaken at least three visits to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since May this year.”
“High-level political exchanges between the two countries are the hallmark of this brotherly relationship. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have brotherly relationship rooted in history and based on mutual trust and understanding,” the foreign office spokesman said.