Saudi Arabia on Thursday assured Pakistan of Kingdom’s complete support in seeking peaceful settlement of all outstanding disputes with India, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office.
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al Jubeir arrived in Islamabad on Thursday on a one-day visit in follow-up to Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman’s two-day visit last month. Conveying sincere wishes of Saudi crown prince to the leadership and people of Pakistan, the visiting dignitary expressed deep appreciation for Islamabad’s restraint in the existing charged environment with New Delhi. Taking note of Pakistan’s peace overtures to de-escalate the situation, he assured Islamabad of the Kingdom’s support to seek peaceful settlement of all outstanding disputes between Pakistan and India, the FO statement said.
While welcoming Saudi Arabia’s steadfast support to Pakistan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi hailed the crown prince’s offer to help resolve the current stand-off between the two neighbours. With regard to the crown prince’s landmark visit to Pakistan last month, Qureshi appreciated the announcement of release of 2107 Pakistani prisoners, increase in the hajj quota to 200,000 and the ‘Road to Makkah’ project.
He expressed confidence that the establishment of Pak-Saudi Supreme Coordination Council will help in advancing the bilateral relations in a targeted and time-bound manner.
Later the Saudi Minister called on prime Minister Imran Khan at the PM Office. Recalling the landmark visit of Saudi crown prince to Pakistan, the prime minister expressed the confidence that decisions regarding release of 2107 Pakistani prisoners and increase in hajj quota to 200,000 will be implemented in a smooth and timely manner. He said the Saudi crown prince had won the hearts of the people by his generous offer of supporting the Pakistani community.
Expressing satisfaction over the progress towards medium- and long-term economic and investment cooperation, he hoped that the newly launched Pak-Saudi Supreme Coordination Council will help build a comprehensive, tangible and result-oriented relationship between the two countries.
Conveying sincere wishes of the Saudi crown prince to the leadership and people of Pakistan, Adel Al Jubeir expressed deep appreciation for Islamabad’s peace overtures to normalize current situation. He acknowledged the role played by Pakistan for regional peace and stability.
The Saudi minister also called on Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the GHQ. “The meeting between the two revolved around matters of mutual interest, regional security and [the] current situation between Pakistan and India,” according to a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The statement said the visiting dignitary appreciated Pakistan’s positive role for regional peace and stability and reaffirmed Kingdom’s support to Pakistan. “General Bajwa thanked Al-Jubeir for taking on the mantle of peace effort in very difficult circumstances. Saudi Arabia has always been a true friend of Pakistan,” the statement further said.
Published in Daily Times, March 8th 2019.
