Saudi Arabia, reaffirming its deepest desire to see a strong, stable and prosperous Pakistan, has assured to extend fullest support to the country in every possible manner.
Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani at the end of his three-day visit to Saudi Arabia said there was a strong desire in the Saudi leadership for further building on their existing ties, with a special focus on cooperation in trade and energy sectors.
Gilani, who met King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz in Jeddah, told the accompanying media team that Saudi Arabia has assured Pakistan of playing its role in getting a positive response from the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council to enter a Free Trade Agreement with Pakistan.
The Prime Minister said King Abdullah described the special Pakistan-Saudi Arabia ties as part of a long-term strategic relationship. He said a major breakthrough has been achieved in the area of food and agriculture and said a Saudi delegation will visit Pakistan next month to enter a meaningful dialogue for extended cooperation in modern farming, livestock and dairy development.
Gilani said the two countries also agreed to continue cooperation in energy and petroleum sectors on short and long term basis. He said Pakistani ministers for petroleum, agriculture and commerce had meetings with their Saudi counterparts, while the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party Asif Ali Zardari has extended his stay in the kingdom to follow-up on the decisions taken at the meeting.
The Prime Minister said he discussed with the Saudi leaders the export of Pakistani manpower and in this regard skilled labour trained from NAVTEC, will be sent there to compete with other regional countries. Prime Minister Gilani said during the talks with King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz there was an outpouring of brotherly feelings from either side. King Abdullah said he was fully in picture about the political and economic situation in Pakistan and desired that there was unity and end to polarisation so that the country can focus on development and uplift of its people.
He said he also discussed regional situation, the security environment in Afghanistan, the challenges to Ummah and impact of rising petroleum prices and global food inflation with King Abdullah. During the talks at Jeddah, both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia also agreed to have a regular interaction at the Foreign Ministerial level biannually, besides holding at least four meetings of their Foreign Ministers.
The Prime Minister described the meetings at the ministerial level as very productive and expressed optimism the ties between the two countries would further strengthen in the days ahead.
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