RIYADH — Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, received Pakistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar at his office here Tuesday. During the meeting, the Crown Prince highlighted the strong bilateral relations between the two countries and the need to enhance it in all fields. The Pakistani minister too affirmed Islamabad's keenness in further cementing bilateral relations to serve the interests of the two countries. They also discussed various issues of mutual interest. Khar conveyed to the Crown Prince the greetings of President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, the government and people of Pakistan on the recovery of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, who recently underwent a successful back surgery. Khar, visiting the Kingdom at the invitation of Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal, told the Crown Prince that Saudi Arabia plays a unique and irreplaceable role in the Muslim world while reiterating Prime Minister Ashraf's invitation to the Crown Prince to visit Pakistan. The Crown Prince, in response, said that Pakistan was like his second home and he was looking forward to visiting Pakistan. The meeting was also attended by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, special adviser and supervisor of the Office and Special Affairs of the Crown Prince, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Nizar Madani, Director General of the Office of Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Al-Bunyan, Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Abdul Aziz Al-Ghadeer, Pakistan's Ambassador to the Kingdom Mohammed Naeem Khan and Director General of the Office of Pakistani Foreign Minister Moazzam Ahmed Khan. Moazzam Khan stressed the visit was to reinforce the growing bilateral relations between the two countries and enhance it to strategic levels, increasing cooperation at various stages and underpinning the importance of the growing ties between the leaders and the people of both countries by taking it to the next level. When asked by Saudi Gazette whether Pakistan sought out the Kingdom's help in tackling their energy crisis, Khan said the minister's visit focused on boosting bilateral ties. “Basically our minister was invited by the Saudi foreign minister and the talks revolved around bilateral issues. This is part of normal consultations to maintain excellent ties with Saudi Arabia.” Khan also said the visit is significant as it emphasizes the growing bilateral relations, that is manifested by the number of high-level visits. “Recently our prime minister was here and this (current visit) continues the excellent ties between the two nations,” he added. To another question whether Afghanistan, post-US withdrawal, was discussed, Khan said, “Afghanistan was not the sole focus of our discussion. Both countries regard it as important issue. Peace and stability is necessary in Afghanistan for peace and stability in the region.” Like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia also has a pivotal role in brokering a peace deal in Afghanistan. According to the road map recently unveiled by the Afghan High Peace Council, Riyadh is likely to host talks between the Taliban and Afghan government for the peace deal.
