Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Saudi Arabia 'is Pakistan's friend in need'

Saudi Arabia has pledged investment deals worth $20bn (£15.5bn) with Pakistan which is seeking to bolster its fragile economy.

The deals include funding for an $8bn oil refinery in the city of Gwadar.

It comes as part of a high-profile Asian tour by the kingdom's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Pakistan is suffering a financial crisis. It has only $8bn left in foreign reserves and is looking to international backers for support.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has been seeking help from friendly countries in order to cut the size of the bailout package his country is likely to need from the International Monetary Fund, under very strict conditions.

The country is seeking its 13th bailout since the late 1980s and Saudi Arabia has already provided a $6bn loan.

Pakistan also said it would confer its highest civilian honour on the Saudi crown prince, the Order of Pakistan, a day after the investment deals were finalised.

The move is at odds with other countries who have condemned the Kingdom over its role in the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year.

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed provisional agreements and memorandums of understanding in the energy, petrochemicals and mining sectors, according to reports.

Of the latest deals, Prince bin Salman said: "It's big for phase one, and definitely [our commercial relationship] will grow every month and every year, and it will be beneficial to both countries."

Charm offensive

Pakistan is the first stop on an Asian tour by the crown prince, known as MBS. He is scheduled to be in India by Tuesday and will visit China on Thursday and Friday.

The prince is seeking to recast his international image in the wake of the Jamal Khashoggi affair. The journalist was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.

Image caption Pakistan needs Saudi money to stave off a huge IMF bail-out - but this is not a one-way relationship

Against this backdrop, the current tour can be seen as a charm offensive by MBS, who is seeking to bolster relationships with dependable allies as he doles out cash, says the BBC's Abid Hussain.

While Pakistan stands to benefit from Saudi Arabia's largesse, the south Asian country is also important to the kingdom.

The two countries have a long-standing military relationship and the MBS visit comes at a time when geopolitics in the region are shifting - including concerns over the influence of Iran.</s>CAIRO (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has signed an agreement to supply Pakistan with crude oil and petroleum products to secure its fuel needs, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Sunday on Twitter.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Pakistan on Sunday and said Saudi Arabia has signed investment agreements worth $20 billion during his visit to the country.</s>Islamabad, Pakistan - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has led a delegation to Islamabad that agreed deals worth more than $20bn, proving much-needed investment for a faltering Pakistani economy struggling with a looming foreign reserve crisis and slowing domestic growth.

Amid much fanfare, Prince Mohammed was greeted on Sunday by Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Nur Khan airbase, where he was accorded a 21-gun salute for his first visit to the country since becoming heir to the throne in 2017.

The two leaders held direct talks in Islamabad, followed by the signing of investment deals in the areas of petrochemicals, energy, minerals, sports and other sectors.

At a state dinner in honour of Prince Mohammed, Khan hailed the strong ties between the two allies, adding: "Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are now taking this relationship to a level which we never had before.

"A relationship where it will now be investment between the two countries which will mutually benefit from it."

"We believe Pakistan is going to be a very important country in the coming future, and we want to be part of that," he said.

The crown prince, who wields tremendous influence and power over policy in Saudi Arabia, valued the deals signed on Sunday at $20bn.

Those agreements include plans to build an oil refinery and petrochemical complex in the southern port city of Gwadar; the possible acquisition of two liquified natural gas-powered power plants by Saudi companies; and up to $4bn in alternative energy and mining deals, analysts and the chief of Pakistan's Board of Investment told Al Jazeera.

Security was tightened across the Pakistani capital on Sunday for the crown prince's visit.

Checkpoints were set up across Islamabad, with mobile phone signals restricted in certain areas. Saudi and Pakistani flags flew throughout the city, alongside portraits of Khan and the crown prince.

Prince Mohammed stayed at the Prime Minister House, a lavish government-owned residence that Khan has refused to occupy since his election last year in an effort to cut government expenditures.

The crown price is expected to fly out from Islamabad on Monday, after meeting the Pakistani army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, and President Arif Alvi. Visits to India and China are next on his itinerary as part of his three-country Asia tour.

In addition to key members of his cabinet, including Petroleum Minister Khalid al-Falih, the crown prince was accompanied by a number of Saudi businessmen, who are expected to hold meetings with Pakistani counterparts ahead of a planned investor conference.

Haroon Sharif, head of Pakistan's Board of Investment, said he expected technical feasibility studies to begin immediately and take up to 18 months.

"All of these projects are of medium to long term," he told Al Jazeera.

"The memorandums of understanding are just the beginning. The real test is when the technical analysis starts."

'We cannot say no'

At the state dinner, Khan publicly requested the crown prince to allow Pakistani pilgrims to Islam's holiest sites for the annual Hajj pilgrimage to undergo immigration procedures on departure, rather than on arrival in Saudi Arabia.

He also asked the prince to facilitate the more than 2.5 million Pakistanis who reside and work in Saudi Arabia, as well the over 3,000 Pakistani prisoners in Saudi jails.

"Sometimes they face hardships, and we would like you to look upon them as your own people," he said.

Prince Mohammed responded by saying the request would be considered.

"Mr prime minister, just consider me in Saudi Arabia as the ambassador of Pakistan ... We cannot say no to Pakistan, and whatever you need we will try to do something about it," he said.

After the one-on-one meeting between the two leaders, the Pakistani government announced the formation of a new Supreme Coordination Council, meant to oversee implementation of agreements in the areas of politics, security, the economy and social issues.

Analysts say the announcement of the investment deals and diversification of Saudi's relationship with Pakistan is consistent with the crown prince's Vision 2030 policy, which foresees the Gulf kingdom attempting to diversify both its economic and political relationships beyond oil agreements.

"The changing situation is that Saudi is now in this diplomatic offensive, not just with Pakistan, but with India and China, too," said Zahid Hussain, an Islamabad-based analyst.

"So that shows that Saudi royalty wants to diversify its relationships abroad. The signal is quite clear."

Asad Hashim is Al Jazeera's digital correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim</s>The people of Pakistan would defend Saudi Arabia if anything happens to them, but the country wants to play a uniting role in the region, Prime Minister Imran Khan said in an exclusive interview with Al Arabiya.

The prime minister denounced the “divisions” and “devastation” in the Muslim world, saying that more conflict should be avoided and that Pakistan can play a role in this regard because it has “one of the best militaries and is a nuclear armed country.”

“Saudi Arabia, with Mecca and Madinah there, I can assure you that- forget our military- the people of Pakistan want to defend Saudi Arabia if anything happens to them so you can rest assured. But you see for Pakistan, the role we want to play now is that we want to play the role of a country that brings other countries together,” Khan said.

“We would like to play a role with Saudi Arabia of putting out fires in the Muslim world, getting countries together,” he added.

Khan also encouraged more trade between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, reaffirming that as strong trading partners, both countries can benefit.

“I think Saudi Arabia and Pakistan need to look beyond the relationship they had in the past. We trade, we invest with each other, we do joint ventures and I think it will raise the standard of living in both countries,” Imran said.

Khan also addressed the importance of China in trade relations, where he said that the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor is planning to set up special economic zones, which is where “Saudi Arabia stands to benefit.”

“Then it will have access to China, benefitting from the special economic zones with special benefits,” he said.

Khan added that these zones will make it easier for countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia to invest as they will have one-window operations, isolation from the “bureaucratic red tape”, concessions and lower taxes.

Khan also hailed reforms initiated by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, stressing that Pakistan wants a “strong and reformed” Saudi Arabia.

“Prince Mohammed is trying to modernize Saudi Arabia (with) much needed reforms... I think it is very impressive, we wish him all the luck, because we want Saudi Arabia to get stronger,” Khan said.

He added that a reformed Saudi Arabia, with its universities, colleges and youth can “compete with the world in the 21st century.”

Saudi Arabia plans to set up a $10 billion oil refinery in Pakistan’s deepwater port of Gwadar, the Saudi energy minister had said in January.

“Saudi Arabia wants to make Pakistan’s economic development stable through establishing an oil refinery and partnership with Pakistan in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor,” Saudi Energy Khalid al-Falih told reporters in Gwadar.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is set to arrive in Pakistan on Sunday to sign the agreement. Al-Falih had said that Saudi Arabia would also invest in other sectors.</s>Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince has been welcomed with open arms at Pakistan after signing trade deals with the cash-strapped country worth $20billion.

Mohammed bin Salman was given a fighter jet escort, 21-gun salute and guard of honour as he arrived in Pakistan last night and was pictured in a warm embrace with Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The Crown Prince also received the country's highest civilian award today, the Nishan-e-Pakistan (Order of Pakistan), before heading to India to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Widely known as 'MBS', the 33-year-old is staging a high-profile three-country visit five months after he came under intense pressure following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

He has signed $20 billion in investment deals with Islamabad and vowed to free thousands of Pakistani prisoners in Saudi custody.

Islamabad is facing a serious balance of payments crisis and hopes the huge deals signed over the two-day visit - seven separate agreements and memorandums of understanding - will boost its struggling economy.

MBS is staging a three-country Asian tour just five months after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a fierce critic, at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul ignited a diplomatic crisis.

After India, he is expected to finish with two days in China on Thursday and Friday.

The Saudis, after initially denying they knew anything of Khashoggi's disappearance, finally acknowledged that a team killed him inside the consulate, but described it as a rogue operation that did not involve the crown prince.

Turkey said Friday it has not yet revealed all the information it has uncovered in the case, which launched a global wave of revulsion and tarnished the crown prince's reputation.

Analysts have said the tour is part of a Gulf pivot to rising Asia as a growing oil market, but also a timely demonstration to the West that MBS is not an international pariah.

Pakistan has also been accused by its western neighbour Iran of harbouring militants who carried out an attack that killed 27 Revolutionary Guards last week. The Guards' commander has also vowed to make Pakistan pay.

But Islamabad received a boost from Jubeir, who called Tehran a 'chief sponsor of terrorism' during Monday's live press conference.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have enjoyed a long alliance dating back to the founding of the Islamic republic.

However, Islamabad has also tried to walk a fine line by maintaining warm relations with its neighbour - and Saudi Arabia's regional foe - Iran.

Jubeir also noted that Riyadh continues to participate in a months-long push by Washington for peace talks in Afghanistan, saying that if the war-torn country can be stabilised 'it will be to benefit... the region as a whole'.

Last week the Taliban announced they would attend talks in Islamabad with the US and Pakistan on Monday that had been due to coincide with the crown prince's visit.

Neither Washington nor Pakistan confirmed the talks, however, and the Taliban announced Sunday that they had been postponed as its militants 'were unable to travel due to the US and UN blacklist'.

Taliban negotiators have recently visited Russia, Qatar, and the UAE.

Fresh talks are set to be held between the US and the militants in Doha on February 25.</s>Saudi Crown Prince to be conferred Nishan-e-Pakistan before he leaves for next stop of his Asian tour in India

Pakistan will confer its highest civilian honor on the Saudi crown prince on Monday, a day after he signed investment deals worth $20 billion on the first stop of an Asian tour clouded by his alleged role in the grisly murder of a dissident journalist.

President Arif Alvi will award Mohammad bin Salman the Nishan-e-Pakistan [Order of Pakistan], the Foreign Office said in a statement, before the crown prince leaves the country for his next stop, India.

Pakistan is facing a serious balance of payments crisis and hopes the huge deals signed over the two-day visit—seven separate agreements and memorandums of understanding—will boost its struggling economy.

The tour coincides with a spike in regional tensions: India and Saudi Arabia’s arch-rival Iran—both bordering Pakistan—have accused Islamabad of backing militant groups which have carried out bloody suicide attacks on their soil in recent days. Hours ahead of the crown prince’s arrival on Sunday, Pakistan dismissed Delhi’s accusations as “well-rehearsed tactics from [the] Indian playbook after such incidents in the past.”

The crown prince, widely known as “MBS,” got a warm welcome in Pakistan, including a 21-gun salute and an honor guard.

He is staging the visit just five months after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a fierce critic, at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul ignited a diplomatic crisis. The Saudis, after initially denying any knowledge of Khashoggi’s disappearance, finally acknowledged that a team killed him inside the consulate, but described it as a rogue operation that did not involve the crown prince.

Turkey said on Friday it has not yet revealed all the information it has uncovered in the case, which launched a global wave of revulsion and tarnished the crown prince’s reputation.

Analysts have said the tour is part of a Gulf pivot to rising Asia as a growing oil market, but also a timely demonstration to the West that MBS is not an international pariah. The crown prince’s tour is expected to finish with two days in China on Thursday and Friday.</s>The Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) has said that the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman to Pakistan is going to herald a new era of prosperity and economic stability in the country.

 In a statement issued here on Saturday, former chairman PIAF Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said that Cabinet approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with KSA on establishment of a state-of-the-art oil refinery at Gwadar would go a long way in realizing the proposal that is there for decades to have an oil refinery in Balochistan.

 He said that the massive investment of $8 billion on the refinery would not only play a crucial role in the overall economic development of the country but also help realize the objective of making Gwadar hub of economic and commercial activities at a fast pace.

 Irfan Iqbal said that Pakistan has been talking with both Russian Federation and China on laying of North-South and South-North pipelines and an offer made to Saudi to invest in these projects is also a step in the right direction as the projects are vitally important and the country has no resources to finance them on its own.

 The former chairman PIAF welcomed the state visit of Saudi Crown Prince to Pakistan stating that this visit will prove a historic milestone to strengthen Pak-Saudi Arabia relations in the longer run. He stated that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are knotted in eternal relationship of brotherhood and no one could make differences between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

 Saudi Arabia is committed to make historic investment in Pakistan to uplift Pakistan’s economy, which is demonstration of Saudi’s trust and confidence on people of Pakistan, he added.

 Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said Saudi Crown Prince is a great leader of Islamic world and his economic reforms inside Saudi Arabia brought positive impact. He said the good sign is that Pakistan under dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan is also introducing economic structural reforms to revive the economy of the country.

 Chairman PIAF Mian Nauman Kabir said Pak-Saudi relations are based on mutual interest and trust and the Saudi government always extended helping hands towards Pakistan at the time of crisis, including the grant of 10 million dollars in 2005 earthquake, 170 million dollars in 2010 floods, 1.5 billion dollars grant in 2014 and recent grant of 3 billion dollars to overcome present economic crisis.

 He suggested exploring new avenues for exports to Saudi Arabia by relaxing non-tariff barriers that have decreased the trade of goods and services between the two countries.—INP</s>Islamabad has received a hefty investment pledge of $20 billion from Saudi Arabia, which seeks to even further expand its contributions to the economically-embattled country.

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have signed $20 billion of investment-worth memorandums of understanding on Sunday, when Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Islamabad.

As the broad investments were expected, Pakistan did its best to greet the high-profile guest, plastering the capital city with large welcoming banners and photos of MBS and Pakistani PM Imran Khan. The investments are related to the country's agriculture and energy sectors, including a $10 billion-worth project of an oil refinery in the southwest of Pakistan.

The Saudi investments are not limited to the hefty sum of $20 billion and the country should expect more of them, MBS hinted while speaking in Islamabad alongside Khan.

“It's big for phase one, and definitely it will grow every month and every year, and it will be beneficial to both countries,” said the crown prince. “We have been a brotherly country, a friendly country to Pakistan. We've walked together in tough and good times, and we [will] continue.”

Bin Salman’s optimism was shared by the Pakistani PM, who lauded their joint efforts of creating “a great future” for the two countries.

“Saudi Arabia has always been a friend in need, which is why we value it so much,” said Khan, while seated next to the prince. “I want to thank you for the way you helped us when we were in a bad situation.”

The situation for Pakistan is not very bright indeed as the cash-strapped country has had a deficit budget for nearly a decade. Recently, Islamabad has been struggling to reach a new bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). When – and if – the negotiations succeed, it would become the 13th IMF bailout the country has received since the 1980s. As negotiations with the IMF have been dragging for months already, Saudi Arabia has already come to the rescue, giving Pakistan a $6 billion loan to replenish the dwindling foreign exchange reserves.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section</s>Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a raft of investment deals Sunday worth up to $20 billion for the cash-strapped South Asian country.

Seven agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were inked as Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman launched his diplomatic trip to Asia in Islamabad, with Pakistan hoping the deals will provide welcome relief to its teetering economy.

Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman was greeted with a booming 21-gun salute in Pakistan Sunday, as the powerful royal scion kicked off an Asia tour months after being tarnished by his alleged links to the murder of a journalist.

The crown prince, widely known as “MBS”, launched his diplomatic trip in the capital Islamabad, where he was set to sign a raft of investment deals believed to be worth billions that Pakistan hopes will provide welcome relief to its teetering economy.

MBS was warmly embraced by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and powerful army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa as he stepped onto a red carpet flanked by an honour guard at a military airbase near Islamabad.

The two-day visit to Pakistan comes amid high tensions in the region: India and Saudi Arabia’s arch-rival Iran -- both bordering Pakistan -- have accused Islamabad of backing militant groups which have carried out bloody suicide attacks on their soil in recent days.

Hours ahead of the crown prince’s arrival, Pakistan dismissed Delhi’s accusations, calling them “well-rehearsed tactics from (the) Indian playbook after such incidents in the past”.

MBS will travel to India after his Pakistan visit, where he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

He is expected to finish the trip with a visit to China on Thursday and Friday.

The Asia trip comes five months after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a fierce critic of MBS, at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul ignited a diplomatic crisis.

Riyadh initially denied the murder, then gave several conflicting accounts of Khashoggi’s death, and now claims he was killed in an unauthorised operation.

Turkey said Friday it has not yet revealed all the information it has uncovered in the extraordinary case, which launched a global wave of revulsion and profoundly tarnished the crown prince’s reputation.

But for analysts, the Asia tour -- the largest outing on the international scene for the Saudi royal since his participation in the G20 summit in Argentina last December -- is a timely demonstration to the West that he still has friends in rising Asia.

He “wants to demonstrate that he is not an international pariah”, said James M. Dorsey, a researcher at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

It is a matter of proving that he still has “international access and he can function... as the most senior representative of Saudi Arabia beyond the king”.

Li Guofu, director of Middle East studies at the China Institute of International Studies, a government-affiliated think tank, noted that the Khashoggi case continues to cause indignation in Western countries, so visiting them would have been “inconvenient”.

“Not travelling to the West does not mean that he cannot come to the East. Saudi Arabia is also making strategic adjustments, and Asia is the new main direction of Saudi diplomacy,” he said.

Asian countries, he added, “have an important special characteristic -- that is, we don’t interfere in the internal affairs of other countries”.

The prince’s trip also includes an important economic component.

“China is the largest buyer of Saudi crude, and Saudi Arabia’s other largest clients are all Asian: India, Japan, South Korea,” said Dorsey.

“Asia is a source of inward investment into Gulf energy and infrastructure investment; and the future growth of the global economy will be in Asia,” said Karen Young, an analyst with the American Enterprise Institute.

Pakistan is facing a serious balance of payments crisis and hopes its longtime ally Saudi Arabia will throw the struggling economy a lifeline, specifically in the form of a $10 billion investment in a refinery and oil complex in the southwest of the county.

Prime Minister Khan has already visited Saudi Arabia twice since coming to power last summer.

The crown prince’s visit to Islamabad comes as the Taliban appeared to postpone a round of talks with the US set to be held in Pakistan this week, according to the group’s spokesman.

Neither Washington or Pakistan confirmed the latest round of talks the Taliban earlier claimed were set to take place in Islamabad.

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are both involved in a months-long push led by Washington aimed at ending the conflict in Afghanistan.</s>ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Saudi Arabia’s crown prince has pledged $20 billion worth of investments in Pakistan to shore up the country’s struggling economy while strengthening bilateral ties at a time when Islamabad is trying to revive its global standing.

The pledges made Sunday evening — about double what had been expected — would also help Saudi Arabia’s economy by setting up infrastructure, including an oil refinery, to secure Pakistan as a market for Saudi crude oil. The promised investments are nonbinding, however, and whether they will materialize remains to be seen. Riyadh has a long history of over-promising to please allies.

Kicking off a tour of Asia with a visit to Pakistan this week, the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, held separate meetings with Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, and the country’s army chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, endorsing the country’s two levers of power. Pakistani security officials gave glowing reviews of the trip, which they said was an important opportunity to strengthen security ties with Saudi Arabia, a relationship that has come under strain in recent years.

Mr. Khan and General Bajwa met Prince Mohammed as his plane landed at Islamabad’s airport Sunday night to a 21-gun salute, and the prime minister then personally drove the prince to the capital in his Mercedes sedan.
Saudi Arabia signs $20 billion dollars in deals with Pakistan.