Aide to Saudi crown prince makes surprise visit

Al-Khateeb's arrival in Islamabad raised prospects of a Saudi bailout package

ISLAMABAD: An aide to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman made a surprise visit in Islamabad on Thursday, raising prospects of a multi-billion-dollar Saudi Arabian bailout package for Pakistan.

Ahmad Agil Al-Khateeb, the Chairman of the Saudi Fund for Development arrived in Pakistan aboard a special aircraft, officials in the Ministry of Interior said.

Al-Khateeb is also an advisor to Crown Price Mohammad bin Salman – who is considered to be the most powerful man in the monarchy after the king himself.

His visit to Pakistan comes just days after the state visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Saudi Arabia.



Although the government denied that Pakistan sought a bailout package, there are reports suggesting that the country requested a multi-billion-dollar assistance package in the shape of oil on deferred payments and cash to cope with growing external sector challenges.

In a briefing given to the Prime Minister early this month, the federal Finance Minister had listed economic assistance from China and Saudi Arabia among options, if the country wanted to avoid a bailout programme by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Subsequently, Pakistan decided to explore the IMF option in addition to assistance from friendly countries to secure a better deal.

An official handout issued by the Finance Ministry stated that Finance Minister Asad Umar held a meeting with a Saudi delegation led by Ahmad Agil Al-Khateeb, the chairman of the SFD and adviser to the Crown Prince.

Al-Khateeb was leading a six-member Saudi delegation, it said.

Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Pakistan Nawaf Saeed Al-Malkiy also attended the meeting.

The Finance Minister is learnt to have discussed with the delegation matters relating to strengthening bilateral economic ties between the two countries.

Ongoing projects initiated by the Saudi Fund for Development also came under discussion with a view to accelerate the pace of implementation, stated the Finance Ministry.

The official handout noted that both sides also signed three Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) for grant projects in Azad Kashmir and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in health and education sectors, signed by the Secretary of the Economic Affairs Division and the CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development signed on behalf of their respective governments.

However, the value of the three grant agreements was just $16.1 million or Rs2 billion, which gave rise to speculations that Al-Khateeb brought a special message of Saudi Crown Prince for the Finance Minister.



Saudi Arabia gave a grant of $10 million or 37.5 million Saudi Riyal furnishing the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz campus at the Azad Jammu and Kashmir University.

The Kingdom also extended $5.5 million or 20.25 million Saudi Riyal grant for equipping King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Teaching Hospital with medical equipment and furniture in Mansehra.

The monarchy also gave $600,000 or 2.25 million Saudi Riyal in grant for equipping Hayaserai Hospital with medical equipment and furniture.

Due to procedural difficulties, a loan agreement for a road construction project could not be signed.

These grant agreements were signed in continuation of the Prime Minister’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia, said Fawad Chaudhry, Federal Minister for Information while addressing a press conference after the cabinet meeting.

Chaudhry said that a Saudi delegation would be visiting Pakistan from Sunday, comprising the head of the Saudi Fund for Development, the monarchy’s energy minister and other senior Saudi officials.

He said that Saudi Arabia was keen to invest in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and other petrochemical projects.