Saudi governor calls on COAS

RAWALPINDI: Saudi Governor of Tabuk Prince Fahad Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud called on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday, said the military’s media wing.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), matters of mutual interests including regional security situation came under discussion during the meeting held at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.

Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud is set to visit Pakistan in a few weeks and announce an investment amounting to 15 billion dollars on behalf of the Saudi Arabian government.

Sources relayed that a date for Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud’s visit was being finalised. A petrochemical complex would be built from Saudi Arabia’s investment in Gwadar and a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed in this regard, they added.

The sources also said the kingdom was likely to hand Pakistan another one billion rupees for balance of payment purpose. The Arab country already has given Pakistan $2 billion out of the promised $3 billion. Provision of raw oil will also be discussed with the Saudi Arabian dignitary during his stay in the country.

Earlier on Jan 12, Saudi Minister of Energy and Industry, Prince Engineer Khalid Abdulaziz Al-Falih announced that Saudi Arabia will make a historic investment in Pakistan. He expressed these views during a meeting with Minister for Petroleum Ghulam Sarwar Khan and Minister for Maritime Affairs, Syed Ali Haider Zaidi in Gwadar, according to state-owned Radio Pakistan. Both the sides reviewed possibilities of expanding exports and discussed the prospects of active cooperation to realize the existing potential of the Gwadar Port. They also discussed possibilities of financial cooperation to enable Pakistan exploit energy, sanitation and mineral resources.

The Saudi minister said mutual cooperation of Pakistan, China and Saudi Arabia on Gwadar Port, which is located in an important region, as exemplary. A delegation of top officials led by Petroleum Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan and Balochistan’s provincial ministers received the Saudi Minister upon his arrival in Pakistan.