ISLAMABAD: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sincerely wants Pakistan to progress and prosper, Prime Minister Shehbaz Shari said on Wednesday after returning from a trip to the Kingdom earlier this week.

Sharif was in Riyadh from Apr. 27-30 to attend a special two-day meeting of the World Economic Forum on global collaboration, growth and energy. The Pakistani prime minister met the Saudi crown prince and the Kingdom’s various ministers to discuss bilateral investment and economic partnership during his stay.

Sharif spoke about his recent visit to the Kingdom during a luncheon he hosted at his Lahore residence for laborers and their families on the occasion of Labor Day.

“I have just returned from Saudi Arabia and believe me, my honorable brother there, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with all his heart, wants Pakistan to progress and wants to see prosperity in Pakistan,” Sharif said to loud applause. 

The Pakistani prime minister said he held extensive meetings with Saudi ministers and their teams in Riyadh on the sidelines of the WEF meeting, describing them as “extremely satisfactory.”

“In a few days, [a delegation of] Saudi businesspersons will come to Pakistan and that will enhance our trade relations,” he said.

In February 2019, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia inked investment deals totaling $21 billion during the visit of the Saudi crown prince to Islamabad. The agreements included about $10 billion for an Aramco oil refinery and $1 billion for a petrochemical complex at the strategic Gwadar Port in Balochistan.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan visited Pakistan last month with a high-level delegation to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation and push forward previously agreed investment deals with the South Asian country.

Pakistan has said it pitched investment projects worth $30 billion to Riyadh during Prince Faisal’s visit.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as the top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.

Both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been closely working to increase bilateral trade and investment deals, and the Kingdom recently reaffirmed its commitment to expedite an investment package worth $5 billion.

Cash-strapped Pakistan desperately needs to shore up its foreign reserves and signal to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it can continue to meet requirements for foreign financing which has been a key demand in previous bailout packages. 

Saudi Arabia has often come to Pakistan’s aid in the past, regularly providing it oil on deferred payments and offering direct financial support to help stabilize its economy and shore up its forex reserves.