Ramsha Afridi
The Pakistani media was taken by storm when Mohammad Bin Salman visited beautiful
Islamabad, Pakistan for a two day visit with his massive entourage.
Though, evidently the visit by the royal was a historical moment and a huge symbol of
peaceful diplomacy between KSA and Pakistan; the visit accomplished extremely
fundamental economic ties between the two countries.
The visit of the Crown Prince in Pakistan, was an intensive two day meeting with
Prime Minister Imran Khan, for the successful signing of MoU’s worth 20 billion
dollars.
MoU’s; formally as memorandum of understanding, are simply a type of agreement, in the international world between two nation-states which define a common action; however are not full legal proceedings.
In the case of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan the MoU’s are extremely fundamental,
because they are worth in billion of dollars and outline major economic, political
and social investment deals.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, share common understanding and have had a relatively
peaceful exchange of terms within history. Therefore, it was not suprising for the
two Muslim nation-states to sign the MoU’s with much optimism and positivity.
The MoU’s that the Saudi establishment has offered to Pakistan, are currently a package of investment deals aimed at importing, exporting, goods between the two nations, agriculture and infrastructure; with one MoU specifically focusing on a $10 billion dollar investment in an oil refinery in Gwadars deep
sea port.
The investment of the oil refinery by Saudi Arabia particularly gained the most attention, because the major investment is in the centre of The China Economic corridor. The CPEC is a Chinese owned project based primarily in Pakistan’s Gwadar Port and is expected to become a major business hub and a major international city within the next fifteen to thirty years.
However, the exciting change of speculation did not just stop there. The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia also pledged to invest even more in to the Pakistani economy.
“It’s big for phase 1, and definitely it will grow every month and every year, and it will be beneficial to both countries,” explained the crown prince to the audience and a room full of international media eagerly listening.
‘Pakistan will be a very important country in the future’, further stated the Crown Prince,
it is evident, why the Saudi royalty and his entourage proudly visited Pakistan for a few days and invested so vastly.
Also, Imran Khan’s government made sure they let the Crown Prince know that they appreciated his kind financial gestures towards Pakistan, by giving him a five star reception in Islamabad during his visit.
The prince was greeted with ten of Pakistan’s best military aircrafts; their very own fighter jets, as soon as the Crown Prince’s plane entered the Pakistani airspace.
Muhammad Bin Salman was received by Imran Khan himself on a special red carpet, when he landed at the airport and was specially greeted by with a twenty one Gun Salut conducted by the Pakistani Military.
If this wasn’t enough, most of the top hotels in Islamabad were fully booked for Mohammad Bin Salman’s entourage and the Prince himself was ridden around Islamabad in the finest vehicles as well an exquisite horse carriage with hundreds of security personnel; around the Capital of Pakistan.
The young prince was truly made to feel special after also being awarded with the highest award of honour in Pakistan and was gifted a specially crafted gold gun by the Pakistani government.
There was clear evidence of loyalty, gratitude and brotherhood present during this special visit from the Saudi government to Pakistan.
This was especially exhibited when the Crown prince released over 2000 of Pakistani prisoners in Saudi Arabia upon the request of Prime minister Imran Khan, only after a few hours of being in Pakistan.
In a nutshell, the friendship between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan is stronger than ever. Pakistan surely is part of Saudi Arabia’s grand vision for the next coming years, to become a stronger, powerful and modern Kingdom which will continue to be a dominating asset of the Middle East and the Muslim world.
