Pak PM’s meeting with king to strengthen ties

Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf arrived here yesterday on a two-day official visit to Saudi Arabia. He will hold a meeting with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah today.
This is Ashraf’s first visit abroad after assuming office.
Ashraf, who was in Makkah yesterday to perform Umrah, was received at the Royal Terminal at King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah by Pakistani Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Muhammad Naeem Khan, Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Ibrahim Al-Ghadeer and Saudi government and Pakistan Embassy officials.
Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Khurshid Ahmed Shah is accompanying Ashraf.
Ambassador Khan said the fact that the new prime minister chose Saudi Arabia as the destination of his first foreign visit indicated the “strong bonds of brotherly and friendly relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.”
Khan said Ashraf will have an audience with the king as well as other Saudi leadership, including Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense.
“The crown prince is a very strong friend of Pakistan, which has very strong strategic ties with Saudi Arabia. Both countries have similarities in views on regional and international issues,” Khan said.
The ambassador added: “The 1.5 million Pakistani workers here have a very strong presence and have been contributing foreign exchange to Pakistan.
“Last year remittances from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan were estimated at $ 2.7 billion and it is set to cross the three-billion dollar mark this year.”
Khan said the Pakistani community here needed more facilities for machine readable passports as the exiting ones were not sufficient to meet the requirements of the growing number of Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia.
Ashraf is scheduled to visit Madinah today.