ISLAMABAD, April 17: Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri will be leaving for Saudi Arabia on Friday (today) for consultations between the two countries on the Iraq situation and the post-war setup there.

“The foreign minister will discuss the recent developments in the Gulf region and seek guidance from the Saudi government on the future course of action,” sources close to the foreign minister’s office told Dawn on Thursday.

Sources said Mr Kasuri has been invited for a two-day visit by his Saudi counterpart Prince Saud Al-Faisal. Foreign ministry sources said they saw the Pakistani-Saudi foreign ministers’ meeting as an opportunity to discuss the possibility of a united stand on the issue of American presence in Iraq.

These sources said that the two ministers would also review the recent American statements on Syria and its political fallout in their respective countries. The Pakistani and Saudi authorities have been in close consultation on the Iraq issue in the recent past.

The two countries have been discussing the proposal of a special OIC summit to debate the Iraq situation — a proposal strongly advocated by Pakistan’s top foreign office officials during their talks with the Saudi Arabian foreign minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal.