Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif leaves for Saudi on three-day official visit

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday left for Saudi Arabia on his maiden three-day official visit abroad during which he will hold wide-ranging discussions with the top Saudi leadership, with particular focus on advancing economic, trade and investment ties.

The 70-year-old leader was sworn in as Pakistan's 23rd prime minister on April 11 after his predecessor Imran Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote.

Sharif, who has been invited for the trip by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is accompanied by a high-level delegation including key members of the Cabinet.

"Today I am embarking on a visit to Saudi Arabia to renew & reaffirm our bonds of brotherhood & friendship. I will have wide-ranging discussions with Saudi leadership. KSA is one of our greatest friends & as Custodian of the Two Holy Places, has a special place in all our hearts, Sharif tweeted.

Separately, his office issued a video message of the prime minister. The video, played on all TV channels, showed Sharif making a commitment to take the ties with the kingdom to new heights.

On Wednesday, the Foreign Office said that Prime Minister Sharif will have bilateral interaction with the Saudi leadership during the visit, with particular focus on advancing economic, trade and investment ties and creation of greater opportunities for the Pakistani workforce in Saudi Arabia.

"This would be the Prime Minister's first visit abroad after assuming Office earlier this month. The Prime Minister will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including key members of the Cabinet, it said.

The two sides will also exchange views on a range of regional and international issues of mutual interest.

The bilateral relationship is complemented by close mutual collaboration at regional and international fora. Saudi Arabia is a member of the Jeddah-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation contact group on Kashmir.

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. Saudi had also approved oil on deferred payment equal to USD 1.2 billion annually.

Citing sources, The News reported that Pakistan has decided to seek an additional package of USD 3.2 billion from Saudi Arabia to jack up the total facility to USD 7.4 billion from the existing USD 4.2 billion during the current visit of Prime Minister Sharif, in order to avert further depletion of foreign currency reserves.

"We are going to request the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to increase the amount of the deposit from USD 3 billion to USD 5 billion and double the Saudi Oil Facility (SOF) from USD 1.2 billion to USD 2.4 billion, so the total package could be increased up to USD 7.4 billion during the visit of premier Sharif," a source said.

"We are requesting for deferred payment facility and enhancing the credit extended for forex support," the paper quoted one of the top officials of the Finance Division as saying.

Cash-strapped Pakistan is passing through a phase of political and economic uncertainty, and the newly-formed Sharif government is struggling to deal with spiralling inflation and an economy that simply refuses to rebound.

Earlier this week, Pakistan and the IMF agreed to extend the stalled bailout package by up to one year and increase the loan size from the existing USD 6 billion to USD 8 billion, giving a breathing space to the Sharif government.

In his first address to the parliament soon after election as the prime minister of the country, Sharif 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.

On the sidelines of the visit, Sharif would also visit Mecca to perform Umrah pilgrimage.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb earlier said that Prime Minister Sharif will travel to Saudi Arabia on a commercial flight at his own expense. "Even during his 10 years as CM Punjab during 2008-18, he always travelled commercially and at his own expense, she added.

The Gulf Kingdom is also home to more than two million Pakistanis, contributing to the progress, prosperity and economic development of the two brotherly countries.

Following General Pervez Musharraf's coup in 1999 toppling the Nawaz Sharif government, Sharif along with the family spent eight years in exile in Saudi Arabia before returning to Pakistan in 2007.

Last week, Sharif 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.