ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s education minister Rana Tanveer Hussain said on Tuesday his ministry submitted a proposal to establish a new skill university by Saudi Arabia, adding the idea was originally proposed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to the kingdom last year.

The minister shared the information while addressing a ceremony organized by the Saudi embassy in Islamabad to celebrate the kingdom’s foundation day which falls on February 22. A royal decree issued last year declared the day as an annual public holiday to mark the foundation of the First Saudi State under the leadership of King Muhammad bin Saud in 1727.

“We have very good cooperation in the education sector with Saudi Arabia and wanted to enhance it,” Hussain said while addressing the ceremony.

“His excellency [Mohammed bin Salman] offered to establish a new skill university in Pakistan or upgrade our existing system,” he continued. “We have shared a proposal related to this with the Saudi diplomatic mission for further processing and hope that it will be approved and finalized on a fast track.”

Prime Minister Sharif visited Saudi Arabia twice last year after assuming the top political office of his country last April. In January this year, the crown prince directed the authorities to find ways of augmenting the kingdom’s investment in Pakistan to $10 billion while asking the Saudi Development Fund to find ways of increasing the kingdom’s deposit amount in Pakistan’s central bank to $5 billion.

Hussain said the Saudi government had offered 600 scholarships to Pakistani students, though he regretted the program could not be fully utilized while requesting the embassy to include his country’s higher education commission while distributing these grants.

Addressing the ceremony, Saudi ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki said political, religious, military, cultural, economic and diplomatic relations between the two brotherly countries were deeply rooted.

“The kingdom has always stood by its brotherly country [Pakistan] through thick and thin and has provided best support to Pakistan in all conditions since its independence in 1947,” he said while praying for the stability and prosperity of the South Asian nation.

“The kingdom pays special attention to its relationship with all Islamic countries and Pakistan is one of the most important Islamic countries,” he added.

The foundation day was a great moment of the kingdom, Al-Malki said, adding it had the legacy of the great founding leader of Saudi Arabia behind it.

“At the foundation day, we pledge to support all the plans which have been taken for the development of Saudi Arabia and its successful Vision 2030 which is leading the country to its bright future,” he added.