Pak, Saudi to work to ensure stability

Islamabad, July 27: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday agreed to work together to ensure stability in both the regions, as they decided to further improve their economic ties and expand cooperation in new areas to boost their fraternal relationship. The understanding was reached at a meeting between Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his visiting Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud.

“We are focused very much on the economic side of the relationship and on opportunities to expand it beyond traditional areas of investment,” Prince Faisal said while addressing a joint news conference alongside Qureshi.

Prince Faisal, who arrived on a day-long visit to Islamabad, said the establishment of the Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Council (SP-SCC) was an important vehicle to take the bilateral relationships between the two countries to new levels.

The SP-SCC was set up during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to the Gulf Kingdom in May and he is the co-chair of the council with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. Both countries will encourage their business communities to interact more frequently to strengthen the economic ties, Prince Faisal said.

He said that security and stability were the key to economic prosperity and both countries had agreed to work together on ensuring stability in each other’s regions. “We have agreed to work on regional issues, whether it is Kashmir, Palestine or Yemen. We will work together to ensure stability in both our regions,” he said. He also stressed upon expanding bilateral coordination in the areas of technology and the environment.

The Saudi minister said his country values the contributions made by the Pakistani community in the economy of the Kingdom and in the talks with his counterpart they discussed more opportunities for Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia.