PM Imran to jet off to Saudi Arabia in first foreign trip tomorrow

Will also visit the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday

Prime Minister Imran Khan is heading off to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in his first official foreign trip after taking the reins as the country's premier.

The prime minister will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Quresi, Finance Minister Asad Umar and Adviser to the PM on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, according to an official statement issued on Monday.

Prime Minister Imran is undertaking the state visit on the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman. Khan will meet with the kingdom's top brass and seek to bolster bilateral ties, as well as, discuss the regional security situation besides touching upon issues of mutual interest.

King Salman will also host a state banquet for the Pakistani premier at the Royal Court. Accompanying ministers will also meet their counterparts to discuss bilateral cooperation.



The PTI supremo will also visit Masjid-e-Nabwi in Madina and perform Umrah on the trip to the kingdom.

Prime Minister Khan will also visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the end of the visit to Saudi Arabia. He, along with the delegation, will arrive in Abu Dhabi in the evening on September 19, and will be received by Crown Prince Mohammaed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

PM Imran is visiting the UAE on the invitation of the crown prince. The two leaders will discuss issues of bilateral interest.

Last month, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry claimed that the PM has decided to not undertake any foreign tour at least in the first three-month of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government 'unless there is a pressing matter in need to be addressed'.

On Friday, the country’s top civil and military leaders finalised strategy for the prime minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia.

This strategy was decided in a high-level huddle chaired by the PM Imran Khan and attended by the army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua, the foreign minister, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt-Gen Naveed Mukhtar and other senior civil-military officials.