BCN-34 Cash-strapped Pakistan to host Saudi crown prince

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BCN-34

PAKISTAN-SAUDI-ECONOMY-DIPLOMACY

Cash-strapped Pakistan to host Saudi crown prince

ISLAMABAD, Feb 13, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Pakistan is preparing to welcome Saudi
Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for a state visit over the weekend,
the foreign ministry confirmed Wednesday, as Islamabad hopes to sign various
investment deals to prop up its slumping economy.

The two-day visit will kick off on February 16 and include a raft of high-
level talks with Prime Minister Imran Khan along with Pakistan’s military
chief.

“During his stay, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will be signing a number of
agreements … related to diverse sectors,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said
in a statement.

“The two countries will also discuss ways and means to develop a robust
follow-up mechanism to ensure effective implementation and quick progress on
tangible areas of cooperation.”

Two five-star hotels have been fully booked by the Saudi delegation while
the Kingdom’s elite royal guards arrived in Pakistan earlier this week to
assist with security arrangements, according to a municipal official in
Islamabad.

The trip comes as the crown prince continues to be tarnished by his alleged
links to the brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi amid new
revelations he spoke of going after the writer “with a bullet”.

The CIA has concluded the Saudi operation was likely directed by the
powerful crown prince, but the White House has sidestepped that finding amid
strenuous denials by Riyadh.

– Gulf ties –

Despite the controversy, Riyadh and Islamabad — decades-old allies —
have been involved for months in talks to iron out details of the deals in
time for the crown prince’s visit.

Saudi Arabia is reportedly preparing to sign a record investment package
with Pakistan, aiming to provide welcome relief for its cash-strapped Muslim
ally.

At the heart of the investment is a reported $10-billion refinery and oil
complex in the strategic Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea, the ultimate
destination for the massive multi-billion dollar China Pakistan Economic
Corridor.

The visit comes just weeks after Pakistan rolled out the red carpet for Abu
Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, shortly after the
emirate pledged to provide $3 billion to support Pakistan’s battered economy.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that both Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates — Islamabad’s biggest trading partner in the Middle
East — have offered Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan some $30 billion in
investment and loans.

Pakistan has been courting its Gulf allies for months as Khan’s new
government desperately seeks to stave off an ongoing balance of payments
crisis and reduce the size of any potential bailout from the International
Monetary Fund.

BSS/AFP/SR/2040 HRS