ISLAMABAD, Oct 24 (FD):Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will pay an official visit today (Monday) to Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh at the invitation of his Saudi counterpart and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
The two leaders will hold consultations to review the longstanding fraternal relations between the countries, keeping in view further strengthening of their multifaceted cooperation, especially in the economic field, a press statement issued by the Foreign Office stated.
The prime minister will also attend the Saudi Future Investment Initiative Summit.PM Sharif is one of the key speakers at the Future Investment Initiative conference, an official said, adding that the prime minister would use the occasion to highlight investment opportunities in Pakistan.
The conference’s theme is “Investing in Humanity: Enabling a New Global Order”. The event being held in Riyadh has been an annual feature since 2017.
This year’s edition runs from Tuesday to Thursday and would be participated in by 6000 delegates from different parts of the world, including top corporate executives of multinationals, policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs and young leaders.
The conference is hosted by the Future Investment Initiative Institute which, though not officially associated with the Saudi government, operates under the patronage of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The investment conference, whose second edition in 2018 was eclipsed by the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, is being held this year in the shadow of US-Saudi spat over Opec’s oil production cut.
US officials have not been invited by organisers to this year’s event because of the rift. The organisers say they do not want politics to take centerstage and instead keep the focus on business at the conference. However, nearly 400 top US business executives have confirmed their participation in the event.
Pakistan sided with the Kingdom in its row with the US over oil production cut.
