Pakistani, Saudi state media to sign agreement within three weeks — Saudi envoy

Exterior view of Pakistan state television headquarters building in Islamabad November 5, 2020. (AFP)

• Says the agreement between the kingdom and Pakistan will strengthen their close relations
• Under the project, documentaries, news about each country to be broadcast in other to raise awareness

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Ambassador to Islamabad Nawaf Bin Said Al-Malki on Monday said an agreement between Pakistani and Saudi state media was in its final stages and would be finalized within three weeks, Saudi media reported. 
In an interview with Urdu News in Islamabad, the envoy said the agreement would be signed between Pakistan Television and Saudi broadcasters.
“This agreement between the kingdom and Pakistan will increase this [close] relation,” Malki said, adding that it would be finalized in the next two to three weeks. 
Aoun Sahi, an executive producer with PTV, said as part of the agreement, Pakistan would make a documentary on Saudi Arabia, which would detail how the kingdom had flourished and how it was changing. Documentaries featuring Pakistan would also be screened in Saudi Arabia, while the two countries would cooperate in news programming as well.
To a question about Pakistanis working in the kingdom, the Saudi ambassador said the people of Pakistan loved Saudi Arabia from the core of their hearts and had “high emotions” for the kingdom. 
“2.5 million [Pakistanis] work in the kingdom,” he said. “It’s very important, this community.” 
Acknowledging the role of Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia’s development, Ambassador Malki expressed his hopes that they would have a part to play in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
He said Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s last visit to the kingdom was successful, and saw the signing of many agreements, including one relating to the formation of the Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Council. 
In February 2019, Khan held a one-on-one meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in Islamabad, followed by the inaugural session of the Supreme Coordination Council, which was co-chaired by the two leaders. 
The high-powered council was proposed by the crown prince during a visit by Khan to Saudi Arabia in October 2018. The objective, as the Pakistani foreign ministry announced at the time, “was to put in place a high level institutional mechanism to fast track decisions in key areas of bilateral cooperation, and for close monitoring of their implementation.”