Pakistan, Saudi Arabia to sign 8 MoUs during Prince Salman's visit

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will sign at least eight MoUs during Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman's visit to the country, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Wednesday. The Prince is scheduled to arrive on in Pakistan on Saturday on a two-day trip. "We hope that at least eight MoUs will be signed during the high-powered visit. Saudi Arabia is our close and trustworthy friend and the relations with the visit of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman will be improved further,” he said. He said that back-to-back visits of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Saudi Arabia also helped to improve the bilateral relations.

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Qureshi addressing media in Islamabad said that the two sides had done proper homework ahead of the visit, which will probably be the biggest trip by a Saudi royal, in terms of composition and number of the entourage, in the history of relations between the two countries.

Earlier, personal amenities of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reached Islamabad. The crown prince's belongings, including his exercise equipment and furniture, reached Islamabad in five trucks, the Dawn News reported quoting Saudi Embassy sources.

Prince Muhammad bin Salman will be the guest of honour at international investment conference scheduled to be held here next week. He is supposed to visit four countries but will start his visit from Pakistan. According to sources, a 40-member Saudi delegation, and over 100 Saudi and Pakistani business leaders will attend the international event. The forum will deliberate on energy, petrochemicals, housing, tourism in Punjab and KP, as well as sign MoUs in this regard. 

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This will be the first visit of Mohammed as the crown prince. He had earlier visited Pakistan as defence minister at the start of the Yemen conflict.

While the prince himself is expected to stay at the Prime Minister House, two of the top hotels in Islamabad have been booked fully for members of his staff, while two others hotels have been partially booked. The crown prince is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Imran Khan and other senior civil and military leaders.