PM to visit Saudi Arabia next week

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would be visiting Saudi Arabia for the second time in a month, on April 27 for three days, to attend the special meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development under the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The prime minister undertook his first foreign visit in the current stint early this month when he reached Makkah to perform Umra and spent the last nights of Ramazan there.

Shehbaz has been invited for the visit by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) to the special high-level meeting of the WEF to be held in Riyadh.

Highly placed diplomatic sources told The News here Wednesday that Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and some other federal ministers would also be a part of the PM’s delegation. It would be first international gathering during his current government where the prime minister would meet some leaders of other countries on the margins of the conference. He would also have another meeting with MBS. The sources said that Riyadh conference will host more than 700 participants from around the world, including senior global stakeholders from governments, international organisations and business leaders from the WEF’s partners. The sources indicated that the Riyadh meeting would not only serve as a platform for addressing global issues but also as a showcase of Saudi Arabia’s ambitions and capabilities in contributing to global economic stability and growth.