Saudi prince starts Asia tour with deals to invest $20 bn in Pakistan

February 18, 2019 - 11:00

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a raft of investment deals on Sunday worth up to $20 billion for the cash-strapped South Asian country, as Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman launched his Asia tour seeking to emerge from the Khashoggi affair.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan (right) speaks with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Prime Minister House upon his arrival in Islamabad. — AFP/VNA Photo
Viet Nam News

ISLAMABAD — Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a raft of investment deals on Sunday worth up to US$20 billion for the cash-strapped South Asian country, as Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman launched his Asia tour seeking to emerge from the Khashoggi affair.

Pakistan is facing a serious balance of payments crisis and hopes the deals -- seven separate agreements and Memorandums of Understanding -- will provide welcome relief to its teetering economy.

The crown prince, widely known as "MBS", is staging the 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 got a warm welcome in Pakistan.

Prime Minister Imran Khan thanked longtime ally Saudi Arabia for its support, adding: "Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are now taking this relationship to a level which (they) never had before."

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

Earlier Sunday, MBS was greeted with a booming 21-gun salute and was warmly embraced by 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. — AFP

 

 

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