ISLAMABAD: The foreign office has said Pakistan was in the process of firming up new dates for a visit by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Islamabad “in consultation with the Saudi side.”
Last week, the foreign office announced that the much-anticipated visit of the Saudi crown prince, scheduled for November 21, had been postponed, without citing any reasons.
“Firstly, although the visit of Saudi Crown Prince H.H. Muhammad Bin Salman was in works, the Foreign Office never announced the dates of the visit or cancelation of the visit,” the foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told journalists on Thursday.
“The visit is being rescheduled and new dates of the visit are being firmed up in consultation with the Saudi side.”
She said the visit held great importance as it would be the Saudi royal’s first visit to Pakistan after assuming the office of prime minister.
“The highlight of the visit would be holding of the second meeting of the Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Council (SPSCC) and signing of a number of MoUs covering various areas including economic, trade, culture and investment etc,” Baloch said.
Speaking about Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia, she said he also held a meeting there with the Secretary General of the GCC to discuss bilateral ties between Pakistan and GCC countries.
“They discussed regional situation in Afghanistan and recent floods in Pakistan with a focus on Pakistan-GCC cooperation to mitigate the impact of climate change,” Baloch said.
“They agreed to revitalize the dialogue between Pakistan and GCC which is an important partner for Pakistan with a special focus on political and security, trade and investment, food security and agriculture.”
