Pakistan & Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reiterate their desire to further improve bilateral cooperation in the areas of trade, economy & defence

ISLAMABAD, Sep 22 (SABAH): Pakistan and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have reiterated their desire to further improve bilateral cooperation in the areas of trade, economy and defence. This was discussed at a meeting between the visiting Chief of General Staff of the Saudi Armed Forces General Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili, who along with the members of his delegation, called on President Dr. Arif Alvi, at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Friday.

Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan, Nawaf Bin Saeed Al-Malki also attended the meeting.

Welcoming the delegation, President Dr. Arif Alvi said Pakistan highly valued its relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) which had always supported Pakistan at difficult times. He stated that both brotherly countries enjoyed excellent relations in various fields and had commonality of views on various regional and international issues. He reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to enhancing bilateral economic and financial ties with the Kingdom for the mutual benefit of two brotherly countries. The President highlighted that Pakistan was looking for investment as the country had huge potential for the investment in the agriculture and IT sectors. He apprised the delegation that Pakistan had constituted a Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) to serve as one window platform to fast-track decision making and facilitate Foreign Direct Investment in four key areas: Information Technology, Agriculture, Energy and Mining in the country, especially from the KSA.

Expressing satisfaction at the existing level of cooperation, President Dr. Arif Alvi said that the high-level exchanges of military leadership of two countries would further boost defence cooperation. He informed that he was highly impressed by the vision of His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman that led to the normalisation of relations between the Kingdom and Iran and would also bring peace and prosperity to the region. The President appreciated the role played by the KSA in the Organization of the Islamic Countries for important Muslim causes, especially for Palestine, Kashmir and Afghanistan. He deeply thanked the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for providing financial support to Pakistan to deal with its economic challenges. He asked General Fayyadh bin Hamed to convey his warm regards to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

General Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili said that Pakistan and KSA enjoyed close ties in various fields since the beginning. He called for further improving bilateral cooperation between two brotherly countries. He said that the Kingdom’s vision 2030 would bring prosperity to the neighbouring countries as well as to the Islamic World.