November 05, 2008	Wednesday	Ziqa'ad 6, 1429

RIYADH, Nov 4: President Asif Ali Zardari arrived here on Tuesday afternoon on his first working visit to Saudi Arabia, seeking a financial bailout package.

Riyadh Governor Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, ministers and senior government officials were at the airport to receive him and his high-powered delegation.

Islamabad is seeking immediate financial help from Saudi Arabia and other friends. It has submitted to Riyadh a request for oil on deferred payment, commonly termed as special oil facility, to help sort out its balance of payments problems.

After a formal meeting between the two sides, King Abdullah invited Mr Zardari and senior members of his delegation to a dinner at the royal palace. Discussions between the president and the king continued during the extended dinner. The dinner was arranged reportedly as a last-minute change in the official programme at the request of the Saudis. Diplomatic circles regarded this as a positive sign.

Despite acknowledging Pakistan’s financial needs, Saudi Arabia has kept quiet on Islamabad’s request. The Saudi foreign minister did not attend the recently convened ‘Friends of Pakistan’ forum in New York, citing other already agreed commitments. To many it meant a cold-shouldering of the Pakistani request.

On Tuesday evening, the Saudi authorities insisted on getting the names of ministers who would be accompanying President Zardari at the dinner, apparently to ensure presence of their Saudi counterparts. The Pakistani side was requested to keep the number of ministers at the dinner meeting with the king to seven.

Besides the financial problems of Pakistan, the inter-faith dialogue being convened by Saudi Arabia is reported to have been discussed. Saudi Arabia has invited some key world leaders to the conference aimed at boosting inter-religious harmony and to present Islam as a religion of peace. President Zardari is likely to attend the conference.

Although no official confirmation was available, Pakistani sources said that the Saudi-sponsored Afghan talks attended by representative of the Taliban and the Karzai government also came up during the talks.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia also have strong defence ties and Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is expected to be in Saudi Arabia this week on an official visit. During his stay here, General Kayani is scheduled to meet the senior political and military leadership of Saudi Arabia.

The importance the government of Pakistan attached to Mr Zardari’s visit is indicated by the inclusion of senior ministers in the delegation, including Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Finance Adviser Shaukat Tarin, Minister for Labour and Overseas Pakistanis Khurshid Shah and Adviser for Interior Rahman Malik.

Mr Tarin held a meeting with senior officials of SAMBA, a leading Saudi bank, and also hosted a meeting of Pakistan Investment Forum.

Immediately after the royal dinner President Zardari and his delegation left for Jeddah. They will perform Umra and then leave of Madina on Wednesday morning before returning to Islamabad.

SAUDI ARABIA has agreed to extend support to the ‘Friends of Pakistan’ initiative, Pakistani sources claimed after the meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Although no details were divulged, the sources reported a positive outcome, especially after the one-to-one meeting.

According to the sources, the king and the president felt that the security of both the countries was interlinked and decided to boost collaboration on security-related issues.