Saudi State Minister for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir arrived in Pakistan on Thursday and held meetings with Prime Minister Imran Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
The Saudi Minister was greeted at the Prime Minister’s Office by the premier where the two discussed the ongoing Pak-India tensions and matters of regional and bilateral interest.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Advisor on Commerce Abdul Razzaq Dawood, and Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua were also present during the meeting.
Earlier, upon his arrival, al-Jubeir was welcomed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ office by Qureshi.
The two officials discussed the current situation in the region, as well as other matters of common interest including economics, politics and security.
In today’s meeting, the Saudi minister assured Foreign Minister Qureshi of Saudi Arabia’s complete and overwhelming support towards solving the issues with India in a peaceful manner.
The minister is visiting Pakistan on the instructions of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. When making the announcement regarding the minister’s visit, Qureshi had told reporters that the Saudi envoy is coming to Pakistan with a special message from Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
The state minister, was earlier supposed to visit Pakistan on March 1.
Last month, crisis gripped the region with the intrusion by Indian Air Force jets into Pakistani airspace following the killing of Indian troops in a suicide blast in India-occupied Kashmir.
Two intruding IAF jets were later downed by Pakistan and a pilot was captured only to be released as a unilateral goodwill gesture.
Amidst rhetoric by Indian officials in the aftermath of the attack, Pakistan had called back its high commissioner in India for consultations on Feb 18. The high commissioner will be returning to New Delhi today.
On Wednesday, the Pakistani foreign minister had thanked Saudi Arabia, among other countries, for their contribution in easing the situation between India and Pakistan.
