ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday left for a two-day visit to the Kingdom where he will attend the eighth edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh, his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party said. 

The FII conference started in 2017 as an annual event bringing people together to invest in the most promising solutions worldwide. It serves as an important platform for countries to showcase their economic strength, draw foreign investments, and engage in dialogue to shape a sustainable future. 

The eighth edition of the conference will be held from Oct. 29-31 under the theme: ‘Infinite Horizons: Investing Today, Shaping Tomorrow,’ and is expected to feature discussions on how investment can serve as a catalyst for a prosperous and sustainable future. 

“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif departs for his two-day official visit of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to represent Pakistan in Future Investment Initiative,” the PML-N wrote on Instagram. 

The foreign office said in an earlier statement that Sharif will hold bilateral talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other officials of the Kingdom during his visit. 

“The two sides will discuss economic and strategic partnership between Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and explore bilateral cooperation in the economic, energy, and defense domains,” the statement said. 

It added that Sharif is also expected to engage with participating leaders and entrepreneurs at the FII conference. 

In April this year, Sharif met the Saudi crown prince on the sidelines of a special meeting of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh. The two figures had discussed bilateral ties and regional issues, including Israel’s war on Gaza, according to Sharif’s office.

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 also been closely working to increase bilateral trade and investment deals, and the Kingdom this year reaffirmed its commitment to expedite an investment package worth $5 billion.

Islamabad has sought to bolster its trade and investment ties with regional countries, including those in the Middle East, to escape a prolonged macroeconomic crisis that has depleted its foreign exchange reserves over the past couple of years and pushed inflation to double-digit figures.