Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif along with a high-level delegation has recently paid a three-day visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Besides performing Umrah, Prime Minister Shehbaz met with the Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Sunday and held wide-ranging discussions on matters of mutual interest. The discussions centered on fortifying the fraternal relations between the two brotherly nations and exploring avenues for enhanced collaboration across various sectors including bilateral trade, investment, defense and security, science and technology, education, expatriates, tour and tourism. Both leaders exchanged views on regional and global developments of mutual interest, including the worrying situation in Gaza. Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to expedite an investment package worth $5 billion discussed previously, to shape bilateral cooperation into a long-term and sustainable economic partnership.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia share a deep and historical relationship. Pak-Saudi ties are characterized by shared faith, cultural values, and political and economic bonds, whereas the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic solidarity make this mutual relationship vital in the realm of international affairs and global politics. Following the partition of British India in 1947, Pak-Saudi relations have been consistently close and friendly. Being a major military power in the Muslim world, Pakistan remained Saudi Arabia’s closest ally and assumed a watchman role for Saudi Arabia’s two holy sites Makkah and Medina, against all internal and external threats. Saudi Arabia was a strong supporter of Pakistan during its wars with India, in 1965, and 1971, and played an important role in the Afghan jihad throughout the 1980s. Islamabad firmly stood beside Riyadh during the Gulf War and sent troops to protect Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia. Both countries enjoy strong military-to-military ties, and strategic cooperation, through intelligence sharing, joint training, Counterterrorism, and teamwork against common threats. Meanwhile, over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriate workforce plays an important role in the development and prosperity of the Kingdom along with fostering people-to-people ties between the two countries.
Over the years, this bilateral relationship has matured into a strategic partnership, a shared foreign policy outlook vis-à-vis both regional and international events, and collaboration in the security domain. Pak-Saudi ties are further strengthened by the need for regional allies due to longstanding tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran and between Pakistan and India, while domestic political changes within the two countries have also shaped the relationship’s development which is mostly driven by personal terms between the rulers in brotherly nations. Historically, economic cooperation has always remained a cornerstone of the tally of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which strengthened mutual bonds and emboldened bilateral ties throughout the past. Saudi economic cooperation has always remained crucial for the economic stability of the South Asian country, wherein Riyadh mostly provided crude oil on deferred payments, economic loans, grants, and investments to meet the urgent needs of the brotherly Muslim country. In 2019, both countries signed an agreement to establish a $10 billion refinery and petrochemicals complex in Gwadar, while Saudi Arabia announced $3 billion as balance of payment support along with a one-year deferred payment facility of up to $3 billion for oil imports to support Pakistan’s dying economy.
In fact, the strengthening of economic ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia holds immense significance for both nations to foster collaboration and capitalize on investment opportunities. The Kingdom’s supportive role in Pakistan’s economy and the mutual desire to strengthen trade and investment ties is of utmost importance in the regional geopolitical environment. This collaboration has the potential to drive economic growth and protect shared economic, security, and political interests at the regional as well as global levels. The current geo-political dynamics underscore the need for a shared and renewed commitment from both nations to enhance their bilateral cooperation and teamwork to meet current-day challenges in an effective and befitting manner. There are tremendous scopes and potential for growth and expansion in Pak-Saudi ties, hopefully, this bilateral relationship and spirit will cement and grow to the optimum level in the future.
