ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Saudi Arabia on Friday has been described as a “welcome development” by defense and foreign policy experts who said it was highly significant in the context of regional peace, stability and enhancement of bilateral relations.
Khan embarked on a three-day visit to the kingdom today on the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss a range of issues, including trade, investment, energy, environment and the welfare of the Pakistani diaspora.
“The visit of the top Pakistani leader is taking place after a brief hiatus, though it is also quite a timely, essential and welcome development for both countries,” Vice Admiral (r) Khan Hasham bin Saddique, a former Pakistani envoy to the kingdom, told Arab News.
“We are also witnessing global and regional transformations of the geopolitical landscape of the world, making it imperative for the two brotherly countries to consult each other and position themselves accordingly,” he said.
In Pakistan’s direct neighborhood, US President Joe Biden’s announced pullout of troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 has jeopardized Washington’s push for peace with Taliban Islamists and increased the chances of an upsurge in violence, which has serious ramifications on Pakistan. In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is seeking to make peace with countries like Qatar and even Iran.
International relations expert Zafar Nawaz Jaspal observed that the visit was at the center of the world attention due to various transformations in global and regional strategic environment.
“Given that the [Pakistan] army chief is also visiting the kingdom,” Jaspal said, “it is clear that the two countries will further enhance their defense cooperation.”
Indeed, many analysts described Pakistan’s army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s visit to the kingdom this week, ahead of the prime minister’s trip, as significant.
“The chief of army staff’s visit is important since it will help the two sides sort things out in a manner that will make Khan’s visit more productive and result-oriented,” Lt. Gen. (r) Amjad Shoaib told Arab News. “The prime minister’s visit is very important. I have a feeling that Saudis are going to restore oil supplies to Pakistan and fulfil their investment promises.”
“We have had a strong relationship with the kingdom in the areas of defense and security since the early 1980s,” he said. “Our troops are deployed there, and I think Saudis have a good experience of working with them.”
Amna Khan, director of the Center for Middle East and Africa at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, said Pakistan needed a close relationship with the kingdom “for greater economic engagement and to secure the interests of its workforce.”
Over two million Pakistanis live and work in Saudi Arabia, which is the largest source of remittances to Pakistan.
The visit of the Saudi crown prince to Pakistan in February 2019 had also raised expectations about investments in Pakistan, Saddique said.
“Hopefully, when the two leaders meet again, there will also be progress on the mega projects they agreed to undertake [during the crown prince’s visit to Islamabad in 2019],” he said.
Pakistani PM’s visit to Saudi Arabia ‘timely and significant’ — experts
https://arab.news/2rmqn
Pakistani PM’s visit to Saudi Arabia ‘timely and significant’ — experts
- Observers say two countries need to consult each other amid significant transformations to global and geopolitical landscape
- Many analysts described Pakistani army chief’s visit to the kingdom this week, ahead of the prime minister’s trip, as significant
Pakistan highlights economic reforms at Davos, eyes cooperation in AI, IT and minerals
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaks at breakfast event in Davos at sidelines of World Economic Forum summit
- Pakistan, rich in gold, copper reserves, has sought cooperation with China, US, Gulf countries in its mineral sector
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif highlighted Pakistan’s recent economic reforms during the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) summit in Davos on Wednesday, saying that his country was eyeing greater cooperation in mines and minerals, information technology, cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence with other states.
The Pakistani prime minister was speaking at the Pakistan Pavilion in Davos on the sidelines of the WEF summit at a breakfast event. Sharif arrived in Switzerland on Tuesday to attend the 56th annual meeting of the WEF, which brings together global business leaders, policymakers and politicians to speak on social, economic and political challenges.
Pakistan has recently undertaken several economic reforms, which include removing subsidies on energy and food, privatization of loss-making state-owned enterprises and expanding its tax base. Islamabad took the measures as part of reforms it agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in exchange for a financial bailout package.
“We are now into mines and minerals business in a big way,” Sharif said at the event. “We have signed agreements with American companies and Chinese companies.”
Islamabad has sought to attract foreign investment in its critical minerals sector in recent months. In April 2025, Pakistan hosted an international minerals summit where top companies and government officials from the US, Saudi Arabia, China, Türkiye, the UK, Azerbaijan, and other nations attended.
Pakistan is rich in gold, copper and lithium reserves as well as other minerals, yet its mineral sector contributes only 3.2 percent to the countrys GDP and 0.1 percent to global exports, according to official figures.
Sharif said Pakistan has been blessed with infinite natural resources which are buried in its mountains in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir and southwestern Balochistan regions.
“But we have now decided to go forward at lightning speed,” he said. “And we are also moving speedily in the field of crypto, AI, IT.”
He said the government’s fiscal and economic measures have reduced inflation from nearly 30 percent a few years ago to single-digit figures, adding that its tax-to-GDP ratio had also increased from 9 to 10.5 percent.
The prime minister admitted Pakistan’s exports face different kinds of challenges collectively, saying the country’s social indicators needed to improve.
“But the way forward is very clear: that Pakistan has to have an export-led growth,” he said.
SHARIF MEETS IMF MANAGING DIRECTOR
Separately, Sharif met IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on improvements in Pakistan’s macroeconomic indicators, efforts toward stability and progress on institutional reforms, a statement from Sharif’s office said.
He emphasized Pakistan’s commitment to fiscal discipline, revenue mobilization and sustainable development, it added.
The IMF managing director acknowledged and appreciated Pakistan’s reform efforts, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.
“Both sides exchanged views on the global economic outlook, challenges facing emerging economies, and the importance of multilateral cooperation in safeguarding economic stability,” the PMO said.
