Riyadh wants to strengthen its bilateral ties with Islamabad: Saudi foreign minister

• The Saudi foreign minister is in Pakistan for a day-long visit at the invitation of Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
• Prince Faisal says Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s ties are founded in brotherhood.
• Shah Mahmood Qureshi thanks his Saudi counterpart for Riyadh’s unwavering support given to Pakistan on FATF.

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said on Tuesday that Riyadh wants to strengthen its bilateral ties with Pakistan.

Addressing a joint press conference alongside Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Saudi minister said that his visit is a follow up to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Saudi Arabia in May of this year.

Prince Faisal said that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s ties are founded in brotherhood and the two countries have always supported each other.

The visiting dignitary said that the Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Consultative Council will help take the relationship between the two countries to new levels.

“We have worked well together in the past but I think this will be a much more effective tool in exploring all the opportunities that we have,” said the Saudi foreign minister on the council.

Prince Faisal lauded Pakistan for its efforts against the coronavirus pandemic and said that the two countries will work on easing the challenges that people face.

“We agree to continue to work on all regional issues whether its Jammu and Kashmir, Palestine whether it is the issue of Yemen and coordinate our positions accordingly,” said Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat. 

On the other hand, Foreign Minsiter Shah Mahmood Qureshi shared that during his talks with Prince Faisal the two did a comprehensive review of their bilateral relationship.

“At the bilateral front we are very comfortable with the way things are moving and we can only improve on what we have,” said Foreign Minister Qureshi. He added that the two focused on how to improve the economic linkages between the two countries.

He also added that Pakistani and Saudi leaderships have given him and his counterpart the task of activating the Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Consultative Council.

Pakistan’s top diplomat also said that he thanked his Saudi counterpart for Riyadh’s “unwavering support given to Pakistan on FATF”.

The Saudi Foreign Minister had arrived at the Foreign Office after he landed in Pakistan for a day-long visit at the invitation of Foreign Minister Qureshi.

Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat was received by Special Assistant to Prime Minister Tahir Ashrafi at the Nur Khan Air Base.