Regional security and defence co-operation is on top of the agenda of the meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in Jeddah. Sharif is currently on a three-day official visit to Saudi Arabia on the invitation of the King.
Former ambassador to Saudi Arabia Umar Khan Ali Sherzai told Business Recorder on Thursday that the security of the region and defence cooperation are the main objectives of the meeting between the two leaders, apart from enhancing trade and investment between the two countries.
In background of former President Asif Ali Zardari's visit to Iran soon after coming into power, the present visit of Prime Minister is significant and shows that Saudi Arabia is an important country for Pakistan, he said.
Talking about the military assistance to Saudi Arabia, the former ambassador said military assistance is limited to training of Saudi troops and handling technical things but Pakistani military is not involved in combat forces.
"We should increase our defence cooperation with Saudi Arabia as this would help both the countries to deal with militancy and terrorism," he said.
The ambassador said that Saudi Arabia has been facing internal dissent and a serious threat from the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant, (ISIS) and Pakistan could help the country overcome these threats.
He further claimed that Saudi government never supports unofficial funding to seminaries in Pakistan for its own safety. "It is nothing but propaganda that Saudi Arabia has been funding religious seminaries in Pakistan," he said, suggesting that the government should strengthen its laws to keep a check on foreign funding through illegal sources.
This is the prime minister's first visit to the kingdom since King Salman assumed the throne last month. The new Saudi monarch had invited the Pakistani prime minister as part of his consultations with Muslim leaders on several issues faced by the Islamic countries. Turkish and Egyptian leaders have already visited Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia last week hosted an international conference of Islamic scholars to explore ways to fight terrorism and violent extremism in Islamic countries.
Sharif is holding talks with the Saudi leaders on bilateral and regional issues, focusing on anti-terror cooperation. He will also meet members of the Pakistani community in Saudi Arabia.
In his pre-departure statement, Sharif said that the ties between the two countries have grown stronger with the passage of time. "Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are brotherly countries which are tied together in bonds of shared faith and values," a statement from the PM Office quoted Nawaz Sharif as saying.
Sources said the two leaders would also discuss issues facing the Muslim world and the financing of terror groups in Pakistan by some Saudi entities.
Saudi Arabia's close military ties with Pakistan, though not new, now have a new dimension - namely countering the threat of a nuclear-capable Iran. Iran is not the only reason Saudi Arabia wants close military ties with Islamabad and the growing perception is that Pakistan can help the oil-rich kingdom combat the threat from al Qaida and border incursions from neighbouring Yemen.
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