ISLAMABAD: The highly-anticipated visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Pakistan has been postponed until mutually convenient dates are finalised by the two sides.
Informed sources told Business Recorder that the visit to Pakistan was expected to take place before or after the Crown Prince’s scheduled visit to Japan, which is being held from May 20 to 23.
However, the trip has now been postponed for the “time being” and the two sides are in touch at the diplomatic level to finalise the schedule of the visit as soon as possible, the sources added without giving the reason behind the delay.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had extended the invitation to the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to visit Pakistan during his official tour to Saudi Arabia.
The invitation was accepted by the Crown Prince and high-level delegations also visited Pakistan to prepare the ground for the highly anticipated visit. Commenting on the latest development, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that they had not announced any schedule of the visit and that the two sides are working to finalise the dates.
The two sides were expected to sign a number of MoUs during the now delayed visit, as Pakistan is hoping a huge investment package from the Kingdom in various areas.
This is for the second time the Saudi Crown Prince’s visit is being postponed as previously his trip to Pakistan could not be held in November 2022 and that too was at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The crown prince had last visited Pakistan in February 2019 during the term of former prime minister Imran Khan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024