Visit of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman to Pakistan delayed | Global News

Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman’s much-anticipated visit to Pakistan has been deferred for unspecified reasons, a report said on Saturday. He was earlier expected to arrive in Islamabad on May 19 on a two-day visit, Geo News reported.

Commenting on the visit of the Saudi crown prince, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zehra Baloch on Friday clarified that details of the visit will be made public as soon as a schedule is worked out between Islamabad and Riyadh. Baloch expressed confidence that the visit would take place soon and be valuable, as the people of Pakistan were eagerly awaiting the leader from the brotherly country.

The high-level visit was likely to take place after recent diplomatic and trade-related engagements between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to the Kingdom in March. The expected visit of the top dignitary, which has now been delayed, holds vital importance for cash-strapped Pakistan, which is eyeing significant investment from Saudi Arabia in various fields.

This visit would also materialize the understanding between both countries in Makkah for attracting Saudi investments worth USD 5 billion in Pakistan in the coming days. It would be the first visit of Mohammad Bin Salman to Pakistan in five years, as he last visited the country in February 2019 during the rule of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense, and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as a top source of remittances to the cash-strapped country. The visit, when rescheduled, will mark the third in-person meeting between Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in a period spanning five weeks.