Saudia wants to participate in CPEC

Lahore : President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) Mian Zahid Hussain has said the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are extremely friendly as Islamabad is Saudi Arabia’s closest Muslim ally.

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have extensive commercial, cultural, religious, political, and strategic relations since decades, he said.

Mian Zahid Hussain said this while speaking at an Iftar dinner held in honour of Saudi Consul General Muhammad Abdullah Abdul Diam.

The positive role of KSA in stability cannot be overemphasised which is widely acknowledged by government and people of Pakistan, he said.

Speaker Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Durrani, Deputy Governor SBP Qazi Abdul Muqtadar, DG Customs Evaluation Syed Tanveer Ahmed, Director Evaluation Wasif Ali Memon, former president FPCCI Zakria Usman, former VP FPCCI Naveed Jan Baloch, Khurram Sayeed, Saqib Fayaz Magoon, Khurram Ijaz, Aslam Khan Niaza, Sulatna Rehman, Shaukat Hussain Vohra, Tahir Zaman, Amir Shafiq, Anjum Sahahzad and others were present on the occasion.

At the occasion, the consult general said that Pakistan is an important trade partner while majority of the remittances being received in Pakistan comes from KSA.

He said that defence and economic cooperation between both brotherly Islamic states continue to increase and that decision of KSA to end dependence on oil economy will open new avenues of cooperation to government and private sectors of Pakistan.

He lauded the economic policies of Pakistan which has helped the economy to take off in a short span.

He said that KSA wants to become partner in economic corridor and extend it to Red Sea and Africa.

KSA has ample opportunities in steel and food processing sectors which should be explored by Pakistani businessmen who will get all out cooperation in my country, he said.

Agha Siraj Durrani said that Saudi Arabia is a great friend that has always helped Pakistan during hard times. Over two million Pakistanis employed in Saudi Arabia send home remittances in billions of dollars annually, he added.

The kingdom is the largest market of the Pakistani manpower worldwide, said Durrani.