ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will touch down in Riyadh on Friday on a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia to discuss bilateral cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said on Thursday.
At the invitation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Imran will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and other members of the cabinet, the statement announced.
“During the visit, the prime minister’s consultations with the Saudi leadership will cover all areas of bilateral cooperation including economic, trade, investment, energy, job opportunities for Pakistani workforce, and welfare of diaspora in the kingdom,” it added.
It further added that the two sides will also exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.
Reports citing people familiar with the developments suggest several Pakistani inmates will be released from prisons in Saudi Arabia during the visit.
“Several inmates will be released and brought back to Pakistan,” Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Bilal Akbar said, explaining that a meeting would be held with the inmates and their release would be expedited with the support of Saudi authorities.
In 2019, during the crown prince’s maiden official visit to Pakistan, Mohammed bin Salman, at the request of Prime Minister Imran, had ordered the release of about 2,100 prisoners from the Saudi prisons. The order, however, could not be fully executed and many workers are still feared languishing in prisons.
The fate of thousands of workers locked up in jails across the Middle East is a sensitive issue with a perception the prisoners are mostly poor labourers who have no real legal recourse.
Huge numbers of people travel to the Middle East every year, with many working on construction sites or as domestic helpers. The remittances they send back are vital for the country’s dollar-starved economy.
During his press announcement, Akbar also revealed that Imran would be signing three MoUs for cooperation in three sectors between the countries.
He also announced that the embassy in Riyadh would be establishing a helpline for the diaspora.
“The overseas community could convey their issues on the helpline,” he said adding that a community cooperation programme would be initiated which would address issues faced by them.
The visit will mark a deepening of ties between allies whose relationship has in the past centered on oil-rich Saudi Arabia backing Islamabad’s economy during difficult periods, and in return Pakistan Army lending support to the Kingdom and its royal family.
