As Prime Minister Imran Khan is on a three-day tour to Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said the visit was “extremely important” in the history of bilateral relations.
“The visit of Imran Khan is extremely important in the history of the brotherly relations… We have an excellent visit from the prime minister and many many subjects covered,” the Saudi foreign minister said in an interview with Pakistan Television via video link.
He said during the interaction, the two leaderships had a main focus on economic cooperation, facilitation of greater investment and trade.
He said Saudi Arabia hosted a large two million Pakistanis residing in the Kingdom who had contributed greatly to the development of the nation.
He said during the visit, the two countries had worked together to enhance cooperation on the issues of bilateral as well those concerning Muslim Ummah.
To a question, Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the agreement for establishment of the Supreme Coordination Council was extremely important to institutionalize and nurture the political, security cooperation and most importantly the economic cooperation.
He said the bilateral relations existed since long but two countries had not exploited the existing potential.
Referring to the joint statement issued on Saturday after the interaction of two leaderships, the Saudi foreign minister said both the sides would work to activate the council to exploit the potential and achieve tangible results.
He commented that the Saudi Crown Prince remembered his last Pakistan visit very fondly and as his favorite visit and that he also looked forward to visiting Pakistan at a yet to be coordinated time.
Calling it a dangerous trend, he appreciated Pakistan’s role to counter Islamophobia and said the OIC should be used to address the issue of intolerance.
He said there must be a dialogue on how to address the escalating tone of disrespect of Islam and Muslim nations needed to be together to address the issue.
“We are very proud that Pakistan is taking it to the heart,” he commented saying that Saudi Arabia was working closely with PM Imran Khan to address the concerns.
Asked about the green initiatives of Saudi government, he said Pakistan had also a leading role in that regard like the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami and that the country had already made a very impressive progress.
“I am sure we will work together to align both the initiatives and to learn from each other and benefit from each other’s experiences. Strong bilateral relations mean that we can partner on issues not only bilateral but also of global nature” he remarked.
Responding to a question, Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the real focus of the leadership during the visit was economic relationship and building a stronger investment climate between the two nations to facilitate investors from both sides.
To a question, he said Saudi Arabia had undergone some significant labor reforms showing flexibility and allowing the workers to transfer their work from one employer to another.
Under vision 2030, the Saudi government had plans to grow the employment basis of the Kingdom that would also open up opportunities for Pakistani nationals as well as businesses.
Touching on the Afghan situation, he said Afghan peace was critical not for Pakistan’ security but also for global security. He said Pakistan had a very important role to play for peaceful Afghanistan and the Kingdom would work closely with the international community to help Afghanistan find security and stability.
About the Pak-India relations, the Saudi foreign minister commended the recent ceasefire between Pakistan and India calling it an “excellent step in the right direction.”
To a question, he said the Kingdom could play its role to reduce the tension.
