. . ISLAMABAD: Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman reached Islamabad on a two-day official visit to Pakistan on the invitation of Prime Minister Imran Khan. After receiving a warm welcome, the Saudi crown prince arrived at PM House and was presented a guard of honour Saudi crown prince being presented guard of honour/ Geo News screen grab At the PM House, Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between the two countries in diverse sectors. The ceremony was witnessed by the crown prince and PM Imran. The Saudi crown prince and PM Imran held one-on-one meeting, while the officials of the two countries signed the MoUs. Saudi Arabia always stood beside Pakistan in difficult times: PM PM Imran, while addressing the MoU-signing ceremony, said that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan always enjoyed brotherly relations. “Saudi Arabia always stood beside Pakistan in difficult times.” The prime minister said that the two countries need to extend cooperation in tourism, petrochemicals, and other fields. “We are taking Pak-Saudi ties to its zenith,” said the PM, adding that in future the relations would reach new heights. The PM also requested the Saudi prince to ease immigration process for Haj pilgrims from Pakistan and 3,000 Pakistanis in Saudi prisons should be released. The Saudi crown prince assured the prime minister of every form of cooperation in this regard. Earlier, Prime Minister Imran, along with his Cabinet members, arrived at Nur Khan airbase and received the Saudi crown prince. Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa also reached the air base to extend warm welcome. PM and COAS wait to welcome the Saudi crown prince/ Geo News screen grab Upon arrival, a historic welcome was given to the Saudi crown prince, widely known as "MbS", who is accompanied by a high-powered delegation, including members of Saudi Royal family, key ministers and leading businesspersons. PM drives car to take Prince Salman to PM House Taking a departure from the norm, PM Imran himself drove the car to the PM House. PM Imran driving car himself, while Saudi crown prince is seated next to him/ Geo News screen grab When Saudi crown prince’s plane reached Pakistani air space, Pakistan Air Force’s JF-17 Thunder and F-16 jets took the plane into its protective circle. Earlier, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi along with other officials reached the airbase to receive his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir. FM Qureshi receives Saudi counterpart/ photo: PTI official Twitter Sources said that a 19-member, high-level delegation from Saudi Arabia reached Islamabad earlier today amid tight security. This is the first official visit of the dignitary to Pakistan since his elevation to the position of Crown Prince in April 2017. During his visit, Mohammad bin Salman will meet President Dr Arif Alvi, and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa. Saudi Arabia is to sign a record investment package with Pakistan, including a $10 billion refinery and oil complex for the strategic Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea. The two countries will also discuss ways and means to develop a robust follow-up mechanism to ensure effective implementation and quick progress on tangible areas of cooperation. A red-carpet welcome Pakistan rescheduled flights, blocking-off luxury hotels, and — according to one report Friday — collecting 3,500 pigeons and colourful balloons to release during a welcome ceremony for Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The crown prince had originally been due to arrive on Saturday but the Pakistan foreign ministry released a statement late Friday saying the visit had been delayed by one day, with the programme unchanged. Banners heralding the crown prince were already lining the streets of the capital, while a local newspaper reported that the authorities were trying to catch so many pigeons for a welcome ceremony that they were forced to collect birds from other cities. Police, the armed forces, and the Saudi Royal Guards will provide security, a senior Islamabad police official told AFP. The capital's "red zone", which houses Parliament House and the Presidency, was to be sealed off, while civil aviation authorities have been told to reschedule flights during the prince's arrival and departure. Authorities in the capital said two five-star hotels had been ordered to cancel all advance bookings as the rooms will be reserved for the prince's entourage. A public holiday has been declared in Islamabad today in view of the occasion. After Pakistan, MbS will travel to India, 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. Two short stops initially scheduled for Sunday and Monday in Indonesia and Malaysia were postponed on Saturday without explanation. 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 has profoundly tarnished the image of the kingdom, especially that of the crown prince. But for analysts, the Asia tour -- the largest outing on the international scene for the crown prince 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. Prime Minister Imran Khan has already visited Saudi Arabia twice since coming to power last summer. The crown prince´s visit to Islamabad will also apparently coincide with possible new talks between the Taliban and the United States on Afghanistan.<doc-sep>Islamabad: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will sign at least eight MoUs during Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman's visit to the country, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Wednesday. The Prince is scheduled to arrive on in Pakistan on Saturday on a two-day trip. Qureshi addressing media in Islamabad said that the two sides had done proper homework ahead of the visit, which will probably be the biggest trip by a Saudi royal, in terms of composition and number of entourage, in the history of relations between the two countries. "We hope that at least eight MoUs will be signed during the high-powered visit," he said. Saudi Arabia is our close and trustworthy friend and the relations with the visit of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman will be improved further, he said. He said that back-to-back visits of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Saudi Arabia also helped to improve the bilateral relations.<doc-sep>
The prince visit comes shortly after Pakistan rolled out a similar red carpet for Abu Dhabi Crown Prince. Pakistan is preparing to welcome Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for a state visit over the weekend, the foreign ministry confirmed Wednesday, as Islamabad hopes to sign various investment deals to prop up its slumping economy. The two-day visit will kick off on February 16 and include a raft of high-level talks with Prime Minister Imran Khan along with Pakistan's military chief. "During his stay, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will be signing a number of agreements ... related to diverse sectors," Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement. "The two countries will also discuss ways and means to develop a robust follow-up mechanism to ensure effective implementation and quick progress on tangible areas of cooperation." Two five-star hotels have been fully booked by the Saudi delegation while the Kingdom's elite royal guards arrived in Pakistan earlier this week to assist with security arrangements, according to a municipal official in Islamabad. The trip comes as the crown prince continues to be tarnished by his alleged links to the brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi amid new revelations he spoke of going after the writer "with a bullet". The CIA has concluded the Saudi operation was likely directed by the powerful crown prince, but the White House has sidestepped that finding amid strenuous denials by Riyadh. Gulf ties Despite the controversy, Riyadh and Islamabad -- decades-old allies -- have been involved for months in talks to iron out details of the deals in time for the crown prince's visit. Saudi Arabia is reportedly preparing to sign a record investment package with Pakistan, aiming to provide welcome relief for its cash-strapped Muslim ally. At the heart of the investment is a reported $10-billion refinery and oil complex in the strategic Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea, the ultimate destination for the massive multi-billion dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor. The visit comes just weeks after Pakistan rolled out the red carpet for Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, shortly after the emirate pledged to provide $3 billion to support Pakistan's battered economy. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- Islamabad's biggest trading partner in the Middle East -- have offered Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan some $30 billion in investment and loans. Pakistan has been courting its Gulf allies for months as Khan's new government desperately seeks to stave off an ongoing balance of payments crisis and reduce the size of any potential bailout from the International Monetary Fund.