PHOTO: FO
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday landed in Jeddah to attend the Foreign Ministers' Council meeting ahead of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit.
He was received by Saudi Foreign Ministry's Chief Protocol Officer Jamal Nasir, Pakistan's Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Raja Ali Aijaz and Consulate General Jeddah Shehryar Akbar Khan.
Speaking to reporters before his departure from Islamabad airport, Qureshi said the final agenda of the OIC summit will be decided during the meeting.
The foreign minister will be holding meetings with his counterparts and the OIC secretary-general on the sidelines of the summit. "A session of the Kashmir Contact Group is also expected, where its members present their viewpoint," he said
Qureshi departs for Saudi Arabia to attend OIC FM's moot
Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia is hosting Islamic, Arab and Gulf summits this week. Prime Minister Imran Khan will represent Pakistan at the moot.
Titled “Makkah Summit: Together for the Future”, the summit is aimed at "developing a unified stance on events in the Islamic world".
The three summits in Makkah allow US ally Riyadh the chance to present unified Islamic, Arab and Gulf fronts against its arch-rival Tehran.
The kingdom's aim of a unified Islamic, Arab and Gulf position is likely to be difficult to achieve.
Qatar has grown closer to Iran, while Kuwait has expressed concern over Iranian threats to close the Strait of Hormuz.
Oman, which has good ties with both Iran and the United States, has said it and other parties "seek to calm tensions" between the two countries.
Iran itself has not yet confirmed whether it will attend the meeting of the summit, of which it is a member. Ahead of the summits, Iran's top diplomats have been touring the region, including Iraq, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.
Iran, which shares a border with Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Turkey, also has good relations with Ankara and Islamabad.
With additional input from AFP.
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