- Saudi envoy Dr Rajeh Tami Albugamy calls on Premier Shehbaz.
- Pak-Saudi ties witnessed remarkable progress in recent years: PM.
- PM congratulates Saudi envoy on assuming new responsibilities.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has assured the kingdom of all-out support, reaffirming that Pakistan stood shoulder to shoulder with Saudi Arabia in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, according to a statement issued by the PM Office on Friday.
The pledge was reiterated as the newly arrived ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Dr Rajeh Tami Albugamy, called on PM Shehbaz in Islamabad, the communique added.
Welcoming the Saudi envoy to Pakistan, PM Shehbaz congratulated him on assuming his new responsibilities and wished him success in his diplomatic assignment.
During the meeting, the premier noted that Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations had witnessed remarkable progress in recent years and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further strengthening existing institutional mechanisms to deepen and broaden bilateral cooperation across various sectors.
PM Shehbaz, the statement added, strongly condemned the recent escalation in Houthi attacks against the kingdom, which had resulted in the loss of precious lives and injuries to scores of innocent people, including Pakistani nationals.
A day earlier, the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said that the country’s Houthis had attempted to attack dozens of Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities, as fighting between the group and Saudi Arabia intensified.
Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki had said at a press conference that the Houthis had launched 20 attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh this month, killing 17 people and wounding 333 others. The airport, one of Saudi Arabia’s main international aviation hubs, was among the civilian infrastructure targeted in what the coalition described as a series of attacks.
In the statement issued today, Premier Shehbaz assured the Saudi envoy that Islamabad and Riyadh had always stood by each other, saying the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement and the Makkah Joint Defence Alliance marked historic milestones in their longstanding fraternal relations and reflected their shared commitment to regional peace and security.
The premier thanked the Saudi leadership for its longstanding economic and financial support to Pakistan and wished the ambassador every success in his assignment and assured him of Pakistan’s full support and cooperation in further strengthening the longstanding fraternal ties between the two countries.
— With additional input from Reuters
