Pakistan, India hope to reap investment from Saudi prince's visit
- by Kelli Lowe
- in Global Media
- — Feb 12, 2019
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman will arrive in Pakistan on a two-day visit on February 16, the Saudi ambassador in Pakistan Ambassador Nawaf bin Said Al-Maliki said Monday.
The powerful heir to the oil-rich kingdom is expected to arrive in Pakistan this week, but the exact date of his arrival has not been disclosed due to security reasons.
Pompeo also noted that the USA sanctioned 17 Saudi individuals for their involvement in the killing, but the letter did not assess whether the crown prince was responsible.
According to Dawn, while the prince will stay at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad, two luxury hotels in the city have been completely booked for his entourage.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan was among a handful of heads of state who attended Riyadh's flagship investment conference, an event that was boycotted by many companies and world leaders in protest over Khashoggi's murder. This includes $10 billion investment agreement to establish a refinery and oil complex in Gwadar Port.
The investment deals with Saudi Arabia will mark a partial departure from Pakistan's decades-old policy of begging from Saudi Arabia in hard economic times.
He said 40 major businessmen from the private sector are coming to Pakistan along with the top Saudi dignitaries.
Pakistan is seeing this investment as a big opportunity to revive its ailing economy.
Prince Muhammad bin Salman will be the guest of honour at worldwide investment conference scheduled to be held here next week.
As a fellow Muslim country, Pakistan has long maintained strong ties with Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Holy Mecca early on Tuesday, where he was reportedly briefed on an expansion project set to increase praying areas. Turkish officials previously said they shared evidence with Saudi Arabia and other nations about Khashoggi's killing and repeatedly called for the suspects to be extradited to Turkey, where the crime was committed.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman waits for the family photo during the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018.
Mr. Al Jubeir insisted that the crown prince, who is the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, did not authorize the killing.
Following the visit of Pakistan, the Crown Prince will embark on a maiden trip to four other significant Asian countries including China, Malaysia, Indonesia and India.