ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday held talks with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman in Mecca during an official visit that Pakistan says is aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and enhancing coordination on regional issues amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Saudi crown prince received Shehbaz at Al-Safa Palace (Qasr Al-Safa), where the two leaders began a bilateral meeting.
The Pakistani delegation included Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.
The meeting comes against the backdrop of escalating security concerns in the Gulf and growing diplomatic efforts among regional powers to bolster defence and strategic cooperation.
Earlier, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi described the visit as “another milestone” in the longstanding Pakistan-Saudi relationship founded on mutual trust, cooperation and brotherhood.
He said the visit had assumed added significance in view of heightened tensions in the Gulf and would further reinforce bilateral cooperation, regional coordination and collaboration in multilateral forums.
The high-level engagement also precedes the expected signing of a trilateral defence agreement involving Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
According to Reuters, the three countries are expected to sign the joint defence pact in Mecca on Friday as regional instability intensifies following the conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
The news agency reported that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Saudi Arabia with a high-level delegation ahead of the expected signing, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also in the kingdom.
Reuters, citing regional sources familiar with the matter, said the agreement would further deepen strategic cooperation among the three Muslim-majority nations, although details of the commitments under the pact and its implications for the wider Middle East crisis have not yet been made public.
Two regional sources told Reuters the agreement was expected to be signed on Friday, a timeline later confirmed by a Turkish official. However, it remained unclear whether the pact would be publicly announced the same day.
If signed, the agreement would mark a significant expansion of defence cooperation among Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey at a time when regional security dynamics continue to evolve amid ongoing conflict and instability across the Middle East.
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