Dear Readers,
The two-day visit of His Highness Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia to Pakistan was hugely successful as well as memorable. In addition to key members of his cabinet, including Petroleum Minister Khalid al-Falih, the Crown Prince was accompanied by a number of Saudi businessmen who held meetings with Pakistani counterparts. Pakistan was the first stop in the three nation Asian tour, the next destinations being India, followed by China. The tour of Asia was essentially motivated by the Saudi urge to expand its oil-based and other business interests. The visit is aimed at building new alliances in the region that contains of some of the world’s strongest and fastest growing economies. In Pakistan, the visit laid the foundation of a new chapter and a fresh beginning in Pakistan-Saudi relationship, marked by high level institutional framework to guide future direction of political, diplomatic, economic, investment, trade, people-to-people, defence, security and cultural aspects. The visit came at a time when Pakistan is faced with a host of problems, internal and external, it struggles with a faltering economy, a looming balance of payments situation and waning domestic growth. There has been some talk of Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) inking an agreement for a three-year financial programme shortly, something the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has been loath to do unless it was the last resort. The visit of the young and charismatic Crown Prince was unlike any other visit by a dignitary from the Kingdom in many ways and it was truly historic for many reasons. MoUs worth US$21 billion were signed the second largest after the CPEC bonanza, in diverse fields such as water, power, investment, finance, combating organized crime, building a petrochemical complex in Gwadar, etc. On a passionate appeal by PM Imran Khan, the Crown Prince very graciously ordered the release of 2107 Pakistani prisoners languishing in Saudi prisons on minor charges. The MOUs will go a long way in strengthening Pakistan’s economy that is now in a take-off position and will expand Pakistan-Saudi bilateral ties beyond ‘narrow confines’. These developments are highly significant particularly for Pakistan, Saudi Arabia has reposed faith in Pakistan and its leadership, it is evident that the Kingdom sees Pakistan as a developed nation of the future, the Crown Prince promised to continue doing more for Pakistan’s progress. While in China the Crown Prince pledged US$28 billion in economic accords and an open-ended goal to invest $100 billion in India, along with promises of increased trade and security cooperation. The China visit was also significant, the Crown Prince emphasized efforts to link Saudi Vision 2030 investments with those of Beijing’s expansive Belt and Road initiative, with Chinese President Xi Jinping calling for developing deeper ties through a China-Gulf Cooperation Council free trade zone. As far as Pakistan is concerned, the Royal visit and huge investments by Saudi Arabia are a vote of confidence in Pakistan’s long-term economic prospects, these positive indicators will go a long way in restoring foreign and local investors’ confidence. For the benefit of readers my article titled ‘THE ROYAL VISIT’ is reproduced below.
HRH Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman (popularly known as MBS) made a two-day royal visit to Pakistan, at a time when this region is witnessing significant upheaval in geo-politics. Facing a host of both internal and external problems, particularly economic woes and despite receiving $2 billion each from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) only last month, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves are still down to about $8.2 billion, sufficient only for less than two months of imports, our predicament can be imagined, it beggar’s description (pun intended). However, when the very credible Governor SBP Tariq Bajwa states we have stabilized the situation and gone over the financial crisis, one believes this to be true. We presently are engaged with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to work out an agreement for a three-year financial programme, something the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan was loathe to do unless it was the last resort.
Appointed Crown Prince in June 2017 when only 31, MBS surprised the world with his dynamism and originality, undertaking several reforms aiming to change the conservatism in the Saudi legal system hitherto considered unprecedented. He was soon making headlines with his creative ideas to introduce a better way of life for his people and the future of his country. Under his guidance Saudi Arabia is moving away from an oil-based economy to a more diversified one. The Saudi Vision 2030 is a roadmap that seeks to reduce the Kingdom’s dependence on oil and develop public service sectors i.e. education, infrastructure, health, tourism, etc. and reinforce economic and investment activities, increase non-oil industry trade between countries through goods and consumer products, etc.
Despite the skepticism generally prevailing about Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs), the signing of several investment agreements with Pakistan worth over US$20 billion is bound to boost and re-energize bilateral ties to newer levels. Pakistan is one of the strategic economic partners chosen by the Saudis. Investments in the short-term, mid-term and long term included US$10 billion by Aramco for an oil refinery in Gwadar, RLNG plants worth US$4 billion, ACWA Power to invest in renewable energy worth $ 2 billion, petrochemical, food and agriculture projects with investment amounting to $1 bn each, mineral development sector US$2 billion. The Kingdom will invest US$21 bn within the next five years, etc., etc. With Pakistan having to import about 70% of its oil requirement presently. These are all extremely significant developments for Pakistan particularly the establishment of a new oil refinery. Given that Pakistan imports 69% of its oil, this will allow saving a huge amount of funds in importing crude oil, that is far more cheaper than the more expensive refined petroleum products. Investment in plants powered by alternate energy will go a long way in helping Pakistan diversify its energy model thereby reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels that are also a danger to the environment. There is also reported interest in our indigenous defence production facilities, the force-multiplier effect on our production of combat aircraft, tanks, etc. would not only upgrade the quality of the products but institute economy of scale in numbers.
At PM Imran Khan’s request HRH not only ordered the release of more than 2100 Pakistani prisoners languishing in Saudi Arabia for petty crimes but also promised sympathetic review of those remaining. When Imran Khan asked him to help the 2 million plus of blue-collar Pakistani workers undergoing hardships working in the Kingdom the Crown Prince not only won but melted the hearts of millions in Pakistan and abroad by saying, we cannot say ‘No’ to Pakistan. The body language said everything, Consider me Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia. What we did today is the beginning and we hope in the close future we do more and more partnering with Pakistan in projects. These few lines that came from the heart are the manifestation of the powerful diplomatic ties and the brotherly love between the two countries. These initiatives are only the beginning of a new chapter in the history of this region. Incidentally Imran Khan gained back a lot of the ground that he had lost in popularity over the months because of some thoroughly incompetent aides.
Major credit should go for the outstanding effort delivered by Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan HE Nawaf bin Said Al-Maliki for the great success. Given the large number of dignitaries accompanying MBS and the relevant security issues, this was a tremendous logistical feat achieved by this gracious and amiable person. The very epitome of a consummate diplomat, he has done much to force-multiply our emotional bonds. Relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are unique and special, the MBS royal visit will take our historical relationship to a new level.
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