PM Shehbaz reaches Riyadh to attend 'One Water Summit'

• Atta Tarar, Tariq Fatemi accompany PM Shehbaz in Riyadh.
• PM to deliver keynote address at 'One Water Summit'.
• Premier expected to hold bilateral meetings on event’s sidelines.
  

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has arrived in Riyadh on a two-day official visit to participate in the "One Water Summit", scheduled to be held on December 3-4.

Upon his arrival at Riyadh’s Royal Airport Terminal, the premier was warmly received by Prince Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman bin Abdulaziz, the Deputy Governor of Riyadh, along with Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and other senior diplomatic staff.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar and Special Assistant to Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi are part of the premier's delegation.

"Just landed in Riyadh to join Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and other global leaders at the One Water Summit, a timely event to deliberate upon collective strategies to tackle water security challenges," he wrote on his X official handle.  

"Together, we aim to accelerate action to combat desertification, address water pollution, and advocate for local, regional and global action. Let’s unite in our pursuit for water sustainability!" he added.

At the summit, the prime minister will deliver a keynote address at a roundtable focusing on restoration, preservation, and adaptation in the context of fresh water resources and wetlands.

He will also highlight the steps being taken by Pakistan to promote water conservation, strengthen climate resilience, improve water quality, create livelihoods, and conserve biodiversity.

PM Shehbaz will underline the importance of international cooperation to tackle the impact of climate-induced floods, erratic and extreme weather patterns, and heat stress on water resources and ecosystems.

He will also call for meaningful international collaboration for sustainable water resource management.

On the sidelines of the event, the prime minister is expected to hold bilateral meetings and engagements. 

'Remarkable progress on Saudi investments'

A day earlier, PM Shehbaz expressed satisfaction over the progress in cooperation and investment projects between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, hailing the longstanding friendship between the two nations.

Chairing a review meeting, the prime minister highlighted that Pakistan’s collaboration with Saudi Arabia continued to grow across various sectors, underscoring the strategic partnership between the two countries.

"Saudi Arabia has been a reliable partner in Pakistan's challenging times, and we are committed to deepening this cooperation," the premier said.

The meeting also included a briefing on the remarkable progress of bilateral investments.

The meeting was briefed about the progress on bilateral cooperation in various fields in the second meeting of the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia Joint Task Force held in November.

It was informed that within a short span of time, both countries had signed 34 memoranda of understanding (MoUs), seven of which have already been formalised into agreements. These agreements were valued at $560 million.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister for Petroleum Dr Musaddik Malik, and National Coordinator of the Special Investment Facilitation Council Lieutenant General Sarfaraz Ahmed.