ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Islamabad this week held the Pakistan Independence Day celebrations to further strengthen brotherly ties between the two countries and their peoples.
The event manifested the enduring political, cultural, economic, and defense relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom, home to over 2.5 million Pakistani expatriates, is a vital source of remittances and oil supply to the South Asian country.
In a pivotal gesture, Saudi Arabia assisted Pakistan by depositing $3 billion in the country’s central bank in June, averting a sovereign default and securing an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout deal.
“We celebrated Pakistan's Independence Day with our local brothers at the embassy,” Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Pakistan, Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki, wrote on the X messaging platform Thursday.
“On this occasion, a function was organized by the media attaché at the embassy. It was a precious day for us as it was for our brothers in Pakistan.”
Al-Malki shared a celebratory video of the event along with his post, capturing the festive spirit of the occasion that included a cake-cutting ceremony and distribution of goody bags among the Pakistani staff at the embassy.
The Saudi ambassador this week held discussions with Pakistan's Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, with the two figures exploring potential collaborations across various sectors like energy, infrastructure, agriculture, IT, and manpower.
PM Kakar lauded Saudi Arabia's steadfast support for Pakistan's development and requested further facilitation for the significant Pakistani workforce in the Kingdom.
Earlier this month, a delegation from Saudi Arabia also arrived in Pakistan to explore investment opportunities in the mining sector, aiming to tap into Pakistan's $6 trillion worth of mineral deposits.
The Saudi delegation attended Pakistan's first dedicated summit on minerals in Islamabad. The summit was organized under the umbrella of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), set up by Pakistan in June to attract foreign investment, particularly from Gulf countries.
