Supreme Coordination Council set up for Saudi-Pak relations: Info minister

ISLAMABAD: A Supreme Coordination Council has been set up to bolster the relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said Friday, two days before Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is expected to arrive in Islamabad.

The two country's leaders, Mohammed bin Salman, who is also commonly known as MbS, and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, will look after the newly-formed Council, Chaudhry added.

The minister further commented that the Kingdom and Islamabad will sign deals and agreements worth billions of dollars during the visit of MbS. This investment, he added, will be more than the aggregate sum that Saudi Arabia has poured into Pakistan over the entire past decade.

Khan will also personally go to the airport to welcome the de-facto Saudi leader, who will be presented with the top-level honour in the President House.

Chaudhry also noted that the federal government and the Opposition is united in the friendship with the Kingdom.

However, earlier in the day, sources informed Geo News that none of the Opposition leaders has been invited to the festivities and events to be hosted in honour of MbS.

Sources further revealed that political big names, including Opposition leader and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, and PPP co-chair Asif Ali Zardari, have received an invitation to any of the official Saudi Crown Prince-related gatherings.

Opposition leaders are not on as good terms with Saudi Arabia as they claim to be, Chaudhry had said earlier in the day, adding that the entire nation was eagerly waiting to give a warm welcome to MbS.