Saudi envoy dashes to Riyadh
By Muhammad Saleh Zaafir
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Malki has dashed to Riyadh for extensive consultations and fine tuning the details and schedule of historic visit of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman’s maiden visit to Pakistan as he will be arriving here in third week of this month for three day stay.
The Foreign Office spokesman has told The News from London Sunday evening that Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has been misquoted about the schedule of the visit. He had been attributed to say that the visit will start on 19th of this month.
In the meanwhile government has decided to accord the Crown Prince protocol due for head of state and the Royal special plan will escorted by four multi-role jet fighters of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) as it enters Pakistan’s air space. The Crown Prince who is known as MBS and calls the shot in the Kingdom will be given unprecedented hospitality during his stay. Pakistan will roll out the red carpet for the Crown Prince. It is expected that Prime Minister Imran Khan himself will receive Muhammad bin Salman at the Nur Khan airbase and then drive him to Prime Minister House. He will be given twenty-one guns salute and a fly-past of JF-17 Thunders before resuming formal talks.
Ambassador Nawaf Bin Saeed Al-Malki who has been burning his midnight oil for several weeks to make the trip highly successful visited the Foreign Office number of time and had meetings with high ups concerned including Foreign Secretary Ms. Tehmina Janjau. He met her again before leaving for Riyadh last week.
Ambassador Al-Maliky had consultations with important federal ministers also during the recent weeks for making the visit really fruitful. He has been assisted by Charged Affairs Syed Habibullah Bukhari in the task who is officiating in the absence of the ambassador.
The visit will commence in the third week of this month as the final dates will be announced close to the schedule due to security reasons. The visit could start from 14th to 17th on any day.
Highly placed diplomatic sources told The News/Jang here Sunday that Pakistan has high expectations from the visit by a brotherly leader. Saudi Arabia has been a great friend throughout. The high-profile visit of the Crown Prince, is a most important event, and will bring two countries even closer. Pakistan is expecting a breakthrough for the future with the trip.
The diplomatic sources said that the agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) worth billions of dollars will be signed during the visit. Big Saudi entourage is expected to be travelling with the Crown Prince. The significance of the visit is reported to be immense, by both Saudi and Pakistani sources.
Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, 33, has received huge acclaim and recognition for his energetic agenda of reform with openness in the society. It is likely that the Crown Prince will announce investment worth almost $15 billion in Pakistan in addition to other economic and diplomatic initiatives.
Islamabad and Riyadh enjoyed ties based on mutual respect, cooperation and trust. New vistas of cooperation will open in diverse fields, including media, in future with the Crown Prince’s visit.
The two brotherly countries are likely to ink additional MoUs pertaining to cooperation in mineral resources. The kingdom is interested in investment in oil refinery, petrochemicals, renewable energy and mining apart from the $10bn plus Saudi investment which is expected to be signed. The $10bn investment will be in addition to the Saudi package of $6bn approved by the Kingdom to Pakistan during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Saudi Arabia in October last year.
