Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman is all set to arrive in Islamabad on Sunday (today) on a two-day official visit.
He will be accompanied by a high-powered delegation, including members of Saudi royal family, key ministers and leading businessmen. This will be the first state-level visit of the dignitary to Pakistan since his elevation to the position of crown prince in April 2017.
During his visit, Crown Prince Salman will meet President Dr Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa. A Senate delegation headed by Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani will also call on the crown prince to discuss the ways to enhance parliamentary cooperation between the two countries.
The Saudi ministers accompanying the crown prince will meet their Pakistani counterparts to discuss bilateral cooperation in their respective fields.
During the visit, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will sign a number of agreements and MoUs in diverse sectors. The two countries will also discuss ways and means to develop a robust follow-up mechanism to ensure effective implementation and quick progress on tangible areas of cooperation.
According to Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, the government has finalized arrangements to warmly welcome the crown prince and that Prime Minister Imran Khan will personally receive him at the airport. Fawad said a fleet of Pakistan Air Force jets will escort his planes as they enter the country’s airspace. The crown prince will be given a 21-gun salute at the airport, he added.
The minister said a dinner will be hosted at the Prime Minister House which will be addressed by both Imran Khan and Mohammad bin Salman. There will be a coordination session between the joint working groups of both the countries wherein they will discuss their fields of interest, he said. Agreements worth billions of dollars will be signed during the visit, he said, adding that huge investments in Pakistan are expected from Saudi Arabia.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman will also jointly preside over the Supreme Coordination Committee (SCC) meeting in Islamabad.
The SCC aims at helping the two countries on effective coordination and follow-up to achieve mutually agreed objectives.
Three ‘pillars’ have been formed in both the countries for close cooperation in the fields of defence, culture and diplomacy. Different steering committees will work under the three pillars to review the progress and strengthen the coordination.
Officials from Saudi foreign ministry, defence ministry, homeland security and general intelligence will be the part of the ‘political and security pillar’. Ministers of defence, foreign and interior and officials of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) will represent Pakistan in this pillar.
The ‘economic pillar’ will work for cooperation in the fields of investment, trade and defence production. Nine Saudi ministries are included in this pillar, whereas from Pakistan, 11 ministries including finance, planning and development, transport and others are part of it.
The ‘social and cultural pillar’ comprises ministers of education, culture, labour and religious affairs. A general secretariat of the SCC has been established in the foreign ministries of both the countries.
Published in Daily Times, February 17th 2019.
