Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari will arrive in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to seek a deferred payment on oil imports and support for a financial aid package, the foreign ministry said Friday. Zardari will hold talks with King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, during the two-day visit starting Nov. 4, foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq told a press briefing. “The president will solicit Saudi support for the Friends of Pakistan initiative and the oil-facility requested by Pakistan” on deferred payment, he said. Pakistan's major donors, dubbed the Friends of Pakistan, will meet in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 17 to decide on economic aid for the nuclear-armed ally in the “war on terror”. They include Britain, France, Germany, the United States, China, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Turkey, Australia and Italy plus the United Nations and the European Union. Pakistan needs up to 4.5 billion dollars (3.5 billion euros) to deal with a balance of payments crisis.
