Saudi Arabia and Pakistan ink agreements during PM Khan visit

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have signed agreements to improve ties, after months of strained relations between the close allies over the disputed region of Kashmir.

Although the kingdom was the first foreign country Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan visited after his 2018 election, Riyadh appeared frustrated with Islamabad last year.

And while the wealthy nation has supported Pakistan with billions of dollars in aid and loans in recent years, observers say the kingdom is also keen not to upset India, a key business partner and importer of Saudi oil.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Khan, who arrived on Friday for a three-day visit, held talks in which they stressed "the importance of expanding and intensifying the horizons of cooperation."

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The country's state news agency added officials from both countries signed two agreements in the western city of Jeddah addressing the treatment of criminals, and crime.

They also agreed two memorandums of understanding around combating drug trafficking; as well as financing energy, infrastructure, transportation, water and communications projects.

The nations also agreed to establish a higher coordination council.

During his trip, Khan – who has visited six times, most recently in December 2019 – will focus on improving ties with Riyadh and the needs of the roughly 2.5 million Pakistanis working in Saudi Arabia.

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Meanwhile, during his stay in Saudi Arabia, Khan will meet the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the imams of the two holy mosques in Makkah and Medina.

The visits by Khan and the army chief are viewed as part of ongoing efforts to mend ties between two longtime allies which have been strained in recent years by a series of events, including Pakistan's refusal to join the Riyadh-led war in Yemen and the kingdom's lukewarm support for Islamabad's stand on the long-standing Kashmir dispute.

In 2018, Saudi Arabia extended a $6 billion financial package to Pakistan to shore up its depleting foreign reserves. But relations deteriorated to the extent that Islamabad had to borrow $1 billion from Beijing to repay Riyadh a part of the soft loan. On previous occasions, Riyadh either rolled over the loan or converted it into a grant.

Saudi Arabia is home to more than 2 million Pakistanis and remains the largest source of remittances to Pakistan.

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