ISLAMABAD - Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday held a video call with Abdullah Amer Al-Swaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to discuss bilateral cooperation in the field of information technology. 

Qureshi underlined the historic and deep-rooted fraternal ties, which form the basis of enhanced cooperation in all fields between the two countries.  

The Foreign Minister emphasised the importance of IT, highlighting the fact that both Pakistan and the Kingdom had a significant youth bulge in their demography. He said the two countries had a wide-ranging scope of expanding ties and enhancing collaboration in this field, which could be mutually beneficial for both, said a foreign ministry statement. The Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology echoed the sentiments of the Foreign Minister, terming Pakistan as a close brotherly country.

The two ministers agreed to enhance bilateral ties and continue close collaboration on all matters of mutual interest. Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood on Thursday inaugurated the Centre for Middle East and Africa at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad.

In his remarks on the occasion, Sohail Mahmood emphasised the political, economic and strategic importance of the Middle East and Africa.