From March 19 to 22 Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to pay an official four-day visit to Saudi Arabia in order to boost bilateral ties, improve economic cooperation, and encourage investment between the two nations.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said that PM Shehbaz was set to visit Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman where the two leaders will discuss and debate upon methods to expand trade, improve cooperation in important sectors and enable more economic activity.
The statement said, “matters of mutual interest and concern including global and regional developments.”
The visit of the prime minister emphasizes the close historical ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and will open the path for more mutual understanding, improved commerce, investment, and more diplomatic coordination on bilateral, regional, and global issues.
The visit by the premier responds to an invitation from the Saudi crown prince with The News saying that he will also visit coastal city Jeddah where he would meet King Salman bin Abdul Aziz and spend a few days in Makkah and Madina.
Notably, the PM visited the Kingdom in October 2024 in order to take part in the eighth Future Investment Initiative (FII), sponsored by King Salman.
To increase bilateral commerce and investment during the Islamabad visit of a Saudi team, headed by Minister for Investment Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al- Falih, Islamabad and Riyadh signed multiple memorandums of understanding (MoUs), valued over $2 billion that same month.
The agreements comprise a $70 million investment in the agriculture sector, the establishment of advanced semiconductor chip manufacturing in Saudi Arabia, a textile industry, a white oil pipeline project, an MoU for investigating investment prospects, a hybrid power project, development of transformer manufacturing facilities in both the countries, cybersecurity measures for consumers and businesses, and export of spices and vegetables from Pakistan.
