ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will leave for Saudi Arabia on Wednesday on a three-day visit.

The March 4-6 visit on the ‘special invitation’ of King Salman Bin Abulaziz Al Saud is being described as the first official visit by Mr Sharif to the kingdom since becoming prime minister in June 2013.

He undertook a number of unofficial visits earlier to the kingdom, including two in January.

King Salman had asked Mr Sharif to visit him in the first week of March.

The Saudi government has launched frenzied diplomatic contacts because of regional developments. Over the past few days, Egyptian and Turkish presidents visited Riyadh. According to media reports, talks with Egyptian and Turkish leaders focused on regional threats.

The prime minister will be accompanied by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and PM’s special assistants Tariq Fatemi and Irfan Siddiqui.

“The official visit of the prime minister will provide an opportunity to the leadership of the two countries to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern in the global and regional context and further strengthen our close bilateral relations,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

Published in Dawn March 4th , 2015

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