PM Imran, crown prince to jointly chair Supreme Coordination Committee meeting

 

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman will jointly preside over the Supreme Coordination Committee (SCC) meeting in Islamabad on Sunday, ARY News reported.

According to details, the SCC will help the two countries for effective coordination and follow up to achieve mutually agreed objectives.

Sources said that three ‘pillars’ had been formed in both countries for close cooperation in the fields of defence, culture and diplomacy.

Different steering committees would work under the three pillars to review the progress and more strengthen the coordination.

Political and security pillar: Officials from Saudi foreign ministry, defence ministry, homeland security and general intelligence will be the part of this pillar. Ministers of defence, foreign, interior and officials of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) would represent Pakistan in this pillar.

Economic pillar: The pillar would work for cooperation in the fields of investment, trade and defence production. Nine Saudi ministries are included in the pillar, whereas from Pakistan’s end, 11 ministries including finance, planning and development, transport and others are included.

Social and cultural pillar: The pillar comprises of ministers of education, culture, labour and religious affairs. A general secretariat of the SCC has been established in the foreign ministries of both countries.

Read More: Saudi crown prince to reach Islamabad on Feb 17

Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Muhammad bin Salman will arrive in Pakistan on Feb 17, according to the Foreign Office.

In a statement, it said the Saudi crown prince will now be visiting Islamabad from Feb 17 to 18. However, the visit programme remains unchanged.

Earlier, the Saudi crown prince was scheduled to reach Islamabad on a two-day visit on Saturday evening (Feb 16).

The preparations to receive the visiting dignitary to Pakistan are all set and the government has decided to accord an ‘unmatched’ welcome to him with JF-17 Thunder jets as the Saudi delegation enters Pakistan’s airspace.