ISLAMABAD. Leading a team of 40 members, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit Saudi Arabia on Thursday (tomorrow) which will be his first visit abroad since becoming premier earlier this month.
“On the invitation of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 28-30 April 2022,” read the Foreign Office statement issuied on Wednesday.
During the visit, the PM will have bilateral interaction with the Saudi leadership, with a particular focus on advancing economic, trade and investment ties and creating greater opportunities for the Pakistani workforce in Saudi Arabia. The two sides will also exchange views on a range of regional and international issues of mutual interest.
“The bilateral relationship is complemented by close mutual collaboration at regional and international fora. Saudi Arabia is a member of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir,” it read.
The official handout read that Saudi Arabia is home to more than two million Pakistanis, contributing to the progress of the two countries. “The Prime Minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia will impart a strong impetus to deepening bilateral cooperation in diverse fields and further reinforce the growing partnership between the two countries,” it read.
Big entourage
According to a notification, a copy of which is available with Aaj Digital, as many as 16 family members of PM Shehbaz are part of the 40-member delegation. The preceding PTI government has slammed the new coalition government for such an entourage and accused the PML-N of booking a charter flight.
Out of the 16 members of the Sharif family, four would join from Doha and two from London.
In a statement on Tuesday, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said that PM Shehbaz was not going to Saudi Arabia on a chartered plane. The minister said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders should not “mislead the masses through false and baseless propaganda.”
She clarified that the prime minister would go to Saudi Arabia on a commercial flight and he would bear the expenses of his visit. “For 10 years as Punjab’s chief minister, Shehbaz Sharif used to pay his travel expenses out of his own pocket.”
However, ANP leader Ameer Khan Hoti has excused himself from visiting Saudi Arabia at the government’s expense. He appreciated the premier’s invitation but maintained that offering Umrah and expressed hope the new government would take the allies in confidence on national matters.
List of delegation
Party heads
Former SAPM
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Personal Staff
Security Staff
List of family members and staff Islamabad
Islamabad- Jeddah
Doha-Jeddah
London – Jeddah
