Pakistan PM Sharif heads to Saudi for first foreign visit
ISLAMABAD/ANKARA: Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif begins his maiden foreign trip on Thursday to Saudi Arabia, seeking financial support from a country where he spent years in exile.
The kingdom has long been an intelligence partner for Pakistan as well as a regular source of relief for its struggling economy. “Today I am embarking on a visit to Saudi Arabia to renew & reaffirm our bonds of brotherhood & friendship,” Sharif said on Twitter on Thursday, adding that the country “has a special place in all our hearts”.
Sharif was sworn in earlier this month after parliament ousted his predecessor Imran Khan in a no-confidence vote.
He inherited crippling national debt, galloping inflation and a feeble rupee, but has vowed to use “Pakistan speed” to hurry along development projects and jump-start an economic recovery.
His delegation was expected to include Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the 33-year-old scion of Pakistan’s most influential political dynasty who was appointed foreign minister on Wednesday.
Talks are expected to focus “on advancing economic, trade and investment ties and creation of greater opportunities for the Pakistani workforce in Saudi Arabia”, according to a statement from Pakistan’s foreign ministry. Saudi Arabia hosts more than two million Pakistanis, the statement said.
Erdogan set to visit Saudi Arabia to mend relations Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will travel to Saudi Arabia on Thursday, marking the culmination of a months-long drive to repair ties with Riyadh that included dropping a trial over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.
Erdogan’s office said he would discuss ways to increase economic and other cooperation with the Gulf kingdom during his two-day visit that came at the invitation of Saudi King Salman.
Analysts and officials say Saudi funding could help Turkey alleviate its economic woes, including soaring inflation, ahead of tough elections for Erdogan next year.