” Saudi crown prince reaffirms kingdom’s support for Pakistan ” | GNN INFO

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reaffirmed on Saturday the kingdom’s support for Pakistan during a congratulatory telephone call to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The crown prince congratulated the premier on his re-election, who in turn, thanked his Saudi counterpart for the telephone call as well as the warm message of greetings the monarch had sent immediately after the prime minister had assumed office, said a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

The prime minister also conveyed his sincerest wishes and prayers for the health and well-being of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdul Aziz. “He said the people of Pakistan had great love and respect for His Majesty as well as the Crown Prince.”

“He also wished a blessed month of Ramadan to the Saudi leadership as well as the Saudi people and prayed that this holy month would bring peace and prosperity to Muslims all over the world,” added the statement. 

During the phone call, Shehbaz said the country was proud of its historic, deep-rooted fraternal ties with Saudi Arabia and lauded Riyadh for its “unwavering commitment and support to Pakistan”.

The prime minister also reiterated his invitation to the crown prince for an official visit to Pakistan at his earliest convenience. 

Crown Prince bin Salman thanked PM Shehbaz for his kind sentiments. 

‘Comprehensive strategic partnership’

Soon after the phone call, the premier took to X (formerly Twitter) and said he was “grateful” for the telephone call from the crown prince.

PM Shehbaz maintained that he looks forward to “working closely” with the Saudi leadership and expressed his desire to turn the “historic” ties into a “comprehensive strategic partnership”.

Earlier, Saudi Arabia rolled over its $3 billion in deposits at the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for another year by the end of December 2024.

The kingdom has supported Pakistan in recent years by depositing and rolling over large sums of greenbacks to shore up the country’s low foreign reserves. 

Remittances from Saudi Arabia are among the highest and the country hosts a large number of Pakistani expatriates. The remittance from the kingdom is a vital source of foreign exchange and typically peaks in the months before Eid.