- Advertisement -
KARACHI, Nov 29 (APP): A seminar titled “Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan” was organized by the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs here on Saturday.
The speakers of the Seminar were Former Federal Secretary of Defence Production, Lieutenant General (Retd) Talat Masood and Economic Advisor, Macro-Fiscal Policies Unit, Ministry of Finance, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Dr Aqdas Afzal.
Speaking on the theme, Former Federal Secretary of Defence Production Lieutenant General (Retd) Talat Masood said that Pakistan had been a close ally of Saudi Arabia and had a strong relationship and mutualities.
He said that Pakistan valued its relationship with Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia also considered Pakistan as its good ally. Masood said that Saudi Arabia was home to 2 million Pakistanis. The Kingdom had provided employment to them.
He remarked that Saudi Arabia had traditionally good relations with Pakistan. He said that Saudi Arabian and Chinese support was of great importance for Pakistan.
Saudi and China had always supported Pakistan in seeking loans from IMF, he said, adding that Pakistan could not afford to lag when the world moved on.
The former Secretary Masood was of the view that the young people really knew how the world was changing compared to the old people.
He said Pakistan had been very supportive and a guarantor of the defence of Saudi Arabia.
He further said that India might have had in mind that a country like Saudi Arabia was supportive of Pakistan and she would keep in mind before any aggressive act.
Masood said that, as per strategic mutual agreement, any aggression on Pakistan or Saudi Arabia would be considered as an attack on a single country. He termed Saudi investment in Defence industrial cooperation as significant.
He said that Pakistan should take full advantage to improve its economy in the wake of the agreement.
He hoped that Saudi Arabia would play an important role in de-escalating the conflict between Pakistan and India, if any such situation emerged in the future.
Economic Advisor, Macro-Fiscal Policies Unit, Ministry of Finance, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Dr Aqdas Afzal said that Saudi Arabia had taken an unprecedented transition.
He said that Saudi under Vision 2030 was focused on its national budget and was now focusing on long-term goals.
Afzal said that Saudi Arabia was actively competing with its neighbors.
Pakistan’s economy had finally stabilized after two years, he said, adding that the Pak-Saudi agreement provided more than a security partnership.
He also recommended forming fiscal committees at federal and provincial levels to address and properly steer the economy of the country.