Saudi crown prince's visit to Pakistan delayed by a day

Published February 15, 2019
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman was scheduled to land in Islamabad on February 16 (tomorrow) for a two-day visit. — CBS News/File
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman was scheduled to land in Islamabad on February 16 (tomorrow) for a two-day visit. — CBS News/File

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman's highly anticipated visit to Pakistan has been delayed by a day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday.

The crown prince, who was scheduled to land in Islamabad on February 16 (tomorrow) for a two-day visit, will now visit the country on Feb 17-18.

The foreign ministry in its statement did not state a reason behind the change in the schedule.

MBS visit: Everything you need to know

However, it said the programme of the Saudi royal's visit "remains unchanged".

Meanwhile, in a notification that was sent to the invitees of an upcoming conference of Pakistani and Saudi businessmen, the Board of Investment (BoI) of the Prime Minister's Office said the visit of the Saudi delegation to Pakistan has been postponed "due to unavoidable circumstances".

"Therefore, the Pak-Saudi Business Conference which was scheduled to be held on 17th February, 2019 has also been postponed," the notice read.

It said the new date of the meeting will be informed in due course of time.

"Any inconvenience caused in this regard is highly regretted," it read.

The Saudi crown prince ─ known as MBS for short ─ will be paying his first state visit to Pakistan since becoming the heir to the throne in 2017. The purpose of the prince's two-day visit is to finalise a series of multi-billion dollar deals with Pakistan in various sectors.

The visit, however, has garnered interest as much for the entourage and equipment accompanying the heir apparent as for what will transpire during his stay.

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