Pakistan entering a new era of ties with Saudi Arabia: FM Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Calling the upcoming visit of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman to Pakistan ‘unparalleled’, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday said Pakistan’s relations with Saudi Arabia were now entering a new era, ARY News reported.

He was addressing a news conference in Islamabad along with Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Textiles, Abdul Razzaq Dawood, and chairman Board of Investment (BoI) Haroon Sharif.

Qureshi said that Pakistan’s relations with Saudi Arabia weren’t ‘that smooth’ when the incumbent government came into power, however, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s special efforts resulted in the betterment of ties.

“Saudi Arabia has been generous with financial support whenever Pakistan has faced difficult times. It is now providing oil on a three-year deferred payment”, stated the minister.

He also hailed the Kingdom for lending Pakistan a ’significant’ amount of $3 billion to support its balance-of-payment crisis.

“We are framing a new mechanism for implementation on memorandums of understanding (MoUs) between the two countries”, he added.

“A number of Pakistani prisoners are languishing in Saudi jails for minor crimes and Pakistan will raise this matter with Saudi authorities”, affirmed the minister.

Responding to a question, the foreign minister said Pakistan would never become a party in the Yemen War. “No efforts are being made to push Pakistan into Yemen conflict”, he clarified.

“The priority of our foreign policy is the revival of our economy”, stated the foreign minister. He said that Pakistan wanted to make Gwadar a hub of economic activities for the world.

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Underscoring the level of friendship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said Prime Minister Imran Khan first received a felicitation call from the Saudi King after taking reins of the country, whereas Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman made the second telephone call.

PM’s adviser on Economy, Razaaq Dawood, said Saudi Arabia’s biggest investment in Pakistan would be in the oil refinery which is planned to be established in Gwadar.

In January this year, the Saudi energy minister had said that Saudi Arabia plans to set up a $10bn oil refinery in Pakistan’s deepwater port.

He said Saudi investors would also make an investment of $2 billion in the agriculture sector.

Chairman Board of Investment Haroon Sharif said three major agreements would be signed with Saudi Arabia in the energy sector. “These accords will pave the way for the creation of more jobs for local people.”

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The contracts for all projects will be awarded through open bidding, he informed.

He said accords with Saudi Arabia would result in the transformation of technology and the promotion of local industries.