ISLAMABAD: A joint working group of the Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Council (SPSCC) on Thursday held a meeting in Islamabad at which Saudi and Pakistani officials vowed to strengthen their longstanding cooperation in political and security domains, the Pakistani foreign office said. 

The meeting of the SPSCC’s political & security pillar was co-chaired by Pakistan’s acting foreign secretary Jauhar Saleem and Saudi Arabia’s deputy minister for political affairs, Ambassador Dr. Saud bin Mohammed Al-Sati. 

The two delegations exchanged views on political and security situation in their immediate neighborhood and the wider region, according to the foreign office. The two sides agreed to continue coordination and consultations on bilateral, regional and international issues of common interest. 

“During the meeting, in-depth discussions were held on wide-ranging topics of mutual interest,” the foreign office said in a statement on Friday. 

“The two sides resolved to further strengthen the longstanding bilateral cooperation in political and security domains.” 

The SPSCC is a high-level institutional framework, established between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in 2019. It comprises three pillars: political and security pillar; economic pillar; and social and cultural pillar. The council aims to institutionalize and fast-track the decision-making and implementation with regards to areas of collaboration agreed under its framework. 

The joint working group meeting will be followed by a meeting of the ministerial committee of the SPSCC’s political and security pillar to finalize the proposals agreed. 

Pakistan attaches great importance to its longstanding, fraternal ties with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which are firmly rooted in common religion, shared values and culture. 

Over 2.5 million Pakistani expatriates live and work in Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom is one of the leading sources of remittances to the South Asian country.