Saudi Foreign Minister arrives in Pakistan on maiden trip

Saudi Arabia's newly appointed Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud arrived in Islamabad on Thursday on his one-day maiden visit to the country.

Al-Saud was received by the Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), where they discussed bilateral relations, regional situation and matters of mutual interest, reports Dawn news.

Qureshi thanked Saudi Arabia for supporting Pakistan's stance on Kashmir and both sides agreed to continue holding bilateral meetings on the issue.

The Saudi Minister is also expected to meet Prime Minister Imran Khan and other leaders during his one-day trip.

This is the first visit by al-Saud since he assumed office in October.

A one-time adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and former ambassador to Germany, al-Saud replaced Ibrahim al-Assaf who was in the role for less than a year.

The Saudi Minister's visit comes days after Pakistan decided to not attend the Kuala Lumpur summit of some 20 Muslim countries reportedly due to pressure exerted by Riyadh, which had extended a helping hand to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government during its early days to stave off an economic crisis.IANS