Two weeks after assuming office as Pakistan's 23rd Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif would travel to Saudi Arabia this week on his first official visit abroad.
Saudi Arabia, along with China, was expected to be the first country to be visited by Sharif as Pakistan has close ties with both of these countries. The Sharif family in particular enjoys a close relationship with the Saudi royal family.
The Saudis had played a central role in the safe exit of Nawaz Sharif from Pakistan after Pervez Musharraf toppled his government in a coup in 1999. Following the coup, the Sharif family spent eight years in exile in Saudi Arabia before returning to Pakistan in 2007.
Earlier in his first address to the parliament as prime minister, Shehbaz had highlighted special ties with Saudi Arabia.
Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman earlier sent congratulatory messages to Shehbaz on becoming Pakistan’s new prime minister and wished him success.
"The Prime Minister, accompanied by a high level delegation, will be undertaking an official visit to Saudi Arabia later during the week,” Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmed said at his press briefing on Monday.
On the sidelines of the visit, Shehbaz would also visit Mecca to perform Umrah pilgrimage.
Last week, Shehbaz met with Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al Malki and “vowed to explore new avenues of bilateral relations between the two countries". The Saudi Ambassador reaffirmed the Gulf Kingdom’s commitment to take the “brotherly relations to new heights".
In December 2021, Pakistan had taken a USD 3 billion loan from Saudi Arabia on very tough conditions after its official gross foreign exchange reserves dipped below USD 16 billion.
According to an earlier report, Shehbaz is set to travel to China after his Saudi visit. Shehbaz has had good relations with the Chinese too. In the earlier Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government, Shehbaz had a key role in accelerating China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects.
With PTI inputs
