ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to pay his first official visit to Saudi Arabia next week, a senior Saudi diplomat confirmed on Thursday. 

Sharif took office on April 11, after his immediate predecessor Imran Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote.

“It is confirmed that Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif is visiting Saudi Arabia next week,” Fawaz Abdullah Alotaemen, media director at the Saudi Embassy in Islamabad, told Arab News.

“The visit can take place any day between April 27 to 29.”

Pakistan’s foreign office said it could not comment on the visit at this stage.

When Sharif was sworn in as Pakistan’s 23rd prime minister, he received congratulations from King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for which he thanked saying that Pakistani-Saudi ties were “special and marked by exceptional trust.”

Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki reaffirmed on Thursday the kingdom’s commitment to take the “brotherly relations to new heights.”

“I would like to ensure our Pakistani brothers about the firm commitment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud to always stand by their country,” he said during an event in Islamabad.

“I pray for the peace, prosperity and stability of both brotherly countries.”