By Our Diplomatic
Correspondent
RIYADH: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Thursday held wide-ranging discussions on host of issues related to political and security domains.
The two Foreign Ministers held these discussions as they jointly chaired inaugural session of the Ministerial Committee of Political and Security Pillar of the Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Committee, held here in the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Underscoring the longstanding fraternal and strategic ties between the two countries, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed his resolve to further strengthen cooperation across entire spectrum of bilateral relations to realize the aspirations of the leaderships of the two countries, achieve common objectives and push their relationship to reach greater horizons.
The two sides shared assessment of the changing regional and global environments and reaffirmed their commitment to continue coordinating positions on all issues of common concern including, among others, Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K), Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari reiterated Pakistan’s firm support for safety and security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad said.
He stressed the importance of continued coordination between the two countries on combating activities of terrorist groups that aim to undermine the security and stability of the regional countries.
The Foreign Minister also highlighted the need to further strengthen institutionalized linkages between the two countries to counter threats in the security domain; including cyber security, counter terrorism and its financing, organized crimes, drug trafficking and money laundering.
He expressed satisfaction on existing military and defence ties between the two brotherly countries and underscored Pakistan’s commitment to further bolster cooperation in this area.
The meeting was held under the framework of Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Council which is chaired by the Prime Ministers of both countries. Senior officials from the Ministries of Foreign, Defence, Interior and the Security and Intelligence Services of both countries also attended the meeting.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, expressed confidence that the Saudi leader’s upcoming visit to Pakistan would promote bilateral cooperation.
“Looking forward to the upcoming visit of the crown prince to Pakistan. The prime minister said that he was confident that this visit would promote bilateral cooperation in all areas of mutual interest,” the PM Office said in a statement following the meeting.
The meeting held on the sidelines of the Conference of Parties (COP 27) in Sharm El-Sheikh reviewed the bilateral relations with a view to further enhancing the ongoing cooperation in various fields.
“Both sides expressed determination to further strengthen the multilateral partnership between the two brotherly countries,” the statement added. Referring to their recent meeting in Riyadh, the prime minister and the crown prince expressed satisfaction at the growing high-level ties.
The prime minister also met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the sidelines of Climate Implementation Summit at COP 27. Chancellor Scholz evinced keen interest in Pakistan’s reconstruction and rehabilitation plans in the wake of the devastating floods, and assured the prime minister of Germany’s continued support.
Separately, the prime minister had a meeting with his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Støre on the sidelines of the summit. Also Shehbaz had a meeting with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte.
