ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia is preparing to sign a strategic economic pact with Pakistan to further strengthen ties between the two brotherly nations, the Saudi ambassador to Pakistan said on Tuesday, months after both countries signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA).
The statement by Saudi Ambassador Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki came during his interaction with Arab News on the sidelines of the launch of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center’s (KSrelief) Ramadan food assistance program for deserving Pakistanis.
It followed a landmark defense pact between the two countries, signed in Sept. last year, under which Islamabad and Riyadh pledged that aggression against one would be treated as an attack on both.
The move was widely viewed as formalization of longstanding military cooperation into a binding commitment, while both countries agreed a month later to launch an economic cooperation framework to strengthen trade and investment ties.
“Three months ago, we signed, you know, the Strategic Mutual Defense agreement. Today, god willing, we will be preparing for another, you know, strategic plan for the economy of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia,” the Saudi ambassador told Arab News, adding the economic plan would be signed “soon.”
