ISLAMABAD - Preparations were in full swing for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's two-day visit to Pakistan during which a number of major investment deals are expected to be signed.
Ministry of Interior has finalised necessary security arrangements for the upcoming visit of the Saudi royal and his delegation.
A senior official at the ministry on Monday said that they had held consecutive meetings during the past few days for the purpose and all relevant stakeholders had been taken on bard in this connection.
Prince Mohammed is expected to arrive in Pakistan this week, although an exact date of his arrival has not yet been disclosed. This will be his first-ever visit to Pakistan as the crown prince.
According to sources, a big consignment of his personal amenities along with his security staff and Saudi media teams has also reached Islamabad.
The prince is expected to stay at the Prime Minister House. However, two of the top hotels in Islamabad have been fully booked for his staff, while two others have been partially booked.
Prince Mohammed is visiting Pakistan on the invitation of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the government is taking this visit as a pure foreign investment opportunity, said the official.
Saudi Arabia is likely to sign investment agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth $14 billion with Pakistan during this high-level visit.
Most of the Saudi Arabian investment will be made in the fields of oil, alternate energy resources and mining, according to officials of the Board of Investment. This includes $10 billion investment agreement to establish a refinery and oil complex in Gwadar Port.
Pakistan is seeing this investment as a big opportunity to revive its ailing economy.
In October, Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Riyadh in a bid to woo potential investors and to secure funds from Saudi government to overcome its balance of payment crisis.
The PM had attended Future Investment Initiative conference besides holding meetings with King Salman bin Abdul Aziz and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
As a result, Saudi Arabia announced $6 billion rescue package for Pakistan including $3 billion in foreign currency support for a year to overcome its balance of payment crisis and another $3 billion for one year in deferred payments for oil imports.
SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS
“We are focusing on giving foolproof security to the Crown Prince and his delegation, said the interior ministry official. He added that the delegation will include members of Saudi Royal family, high government officials and renowned businessmen of the Kingdom.
As part of the safety measures, security on the entry and exit points of the capital will remain tightened during the presence of Saudi delegation in Islamabad.
In addition, Red Zone of the capital would remain under strict watch of the security forces, besides the other places that would be visited by the Crown Prince and members of his delegation.
The official sources added that around a 100-member delegation of Saudi government - including their security team - has arrived in the capital to oversee necessary arrangements for the visit.
Following the visit of Pakistan, the Crown Prince will embark on a maiden trip to four other significant Asian countries including China, Malaysia, Indonesia and India.
