ISLAMABAD, Feb 2: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Thursday agreed to further strengthen their economic, trade and commercial ties. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Saudi Finance Minister Dr Ibrahim Al Assaf discussed the details at a meeting held at the Prime Minister House.

The prime minister briefed the Saudi finance minister on the state of economy and government’s liberal and investment friendly economic policies. Shaukat Aziz said Pakistan offered tremendous investment opportunities to foreign investors and it would welcome Saudi investors in all fields.

The prime minister said the Pakistani government intended to set up an oil refinery in coastal areas to export petroleum products and urged Saudi businessmen to invest in the project.

Referring to the proposal of President Gen Pervez Musharraf to set up a Pan-Islamic Fund, Prime Minister Aziz expressed the confidence that the fund would go a long way in opening up new opportunities of development in Muslim countries.

Briefing the Saudi finance minister about water shortage problems being faced by Pakistan, the prime minister said the government had decided to construct a series of dams. He said the government wanted to set up a consortium of credit suppliers to construct water reservoirs in the country. He said Saudi entrepreneurs could also play a role in this regard.

The Saudi finance minister said SR150 million in contributions had been earmarked to build new houses in earthquake-hit areas.

He said Saudi people had contributed SR450 million in donations to relieve the misery of the earthquake survivors.

The Saudi finance minister said Saudi Arabia had also constructed a 40-bed mobile field hospital which would continue to work permanently.

He said Saudi Arabia had already set aside SR500 million for relief aid to Pakistan in addition to SR37.5 million in emergency assistance and the grant would be disbursed by the Saudi Fund for Development to finance projects in housing, road, education and health sectors.

He said SR500 million had also been earmarked to finance Saudi exports to Pakistan.

In a related development, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sehikh Rashid Ahmed on Thursday said Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz could help achieve a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue.

“Saudi leadership can play an effective role to help resolve the issue of Kashmir with India,” he said while talking to reporters here after concluding his meeting with Saudi Information Minister Iyad Madani.

He said a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue would go a long way in establishing peace in the region and ensuring welfare and prosperity of the people of Kashmir.

Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said Pakistan had great respect for King Abdulllah Bin Abdulaziz as he was the leader of the Ummah.

He said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoyed time-tested and deepest brotherly relations.

To further strengthen relations between the two countries in the field of media, a delegation would soon visit Saudi Arabia, he said. “We will move very fast”, he added.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis, Ghulam Sarwar Khan said that the visit of Saudi king would open up new avenues for promoting bilateral relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Talking to various delegations here on Thursday, the minister reminded that in 1951, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had signed first mutual friendship agreement which was further renewed and cemented on the state visit of King Saud in 1954, when he had termed that the “Pakistanis were his own masses”.

Ghulam Sarwar Khan said that the Saudi Arabia had supported Pakistan in every crisis.

He said the stance of Saudi Arabia on the issue of Kashmir had always remained in consonance with the wishes of Pakistani and Kashmiri nations.

He hoped that lasting bilateral relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia would further grow.

The minister said that there were one million Pakistani professionals, skilled and semi-skilled workers in Saudi Arabia.

He said as a result of King Abdullah’s current visit of, Pakistan would be able to export more manpower to Saudi Arabia. It was 1970, when Saudi Arabia opened its doors for Pakistani workers to meet its domestic manpower needs.

He said that overseas Pakistanis were playing a vital role in the development of the country’s economy.

Ghulam Sarwar Khan said that Saudi investors would hopefully start investment in Pakistan, as the environment for investment has become conductive and friendly.

He said that the growing economic relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia would bring the two nations more closer. — APP