Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan met with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad on Thursday, Al Arabiya English reported. "The close ties that bring together the leaders and the people of our two brotherly countries have made our bilateral relations a unique model for communication and consensus in visions towards the issues of our nations, and cooperation in order to achieve growth and progress for the two countries," said Prince Faisal, who is on his first visit to Pakistan after being appointed as foreign minister, on Twitter following his meeting with Khan. Qureshi, who received Prince Faisal on his arrival, highlighted tensions with India in connection with the disputed Kashmir region and appreciated Saudi Arabia's support to Pakistan on the matter. The ministers agreed to continue consultations on Kashmir and other regional issues. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were among more than 50 Muslim countries that stayed away from a proposed summit of Islamic nations last week in Malaysia that was attended by allies of the extremist Muslim Brotherhood network including Iran, Qatar and Turkey. Saudi Arabia has been a staunch ally of Pakistan for many years and was among the first countries to come forward and help Pakistan with a financial bailout package to cope with a balance of payments crisis in 2018. Saudi Arabia plays host to at least four million Pakistani workers, who send home $9 billion worth of remittances annually and provide economic benefits for both countries. — SG
