Saudi Arabia's crown prince visits Pakistan

The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, arrived here Saturday evening to hold talks on bilateral and regional matters.

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud would hold talks with Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on bilateral and international matters of mutual interest, Xinhua quoted Pakistan foreign ministry as saying.

"The Crown Prince's visit is of special significance since it is his first visit to Pakistan after assuming this position," the ministry said.

The two sides will also discuss ways to increase export of Pakistani manpower to Saudi Arabia and to facilitate the Pakistani community residing in Saudi Arabia.

There is a large Pakistani community of approximately 1.5 million in Saudi Arabia who contribute to Pakistan's eonomy through annual remittances of over $4 billion.

Earlier, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif welcomed the Saudi Crown Prince on arrival at a military airbase near Islamabad. He was presented a gun-salute and guard of honour.

The Saudi crown prince, who is also deputy prime minister and holds the portfolio of defence minister, is leading a high-level delegation including Mohammed bin Sulaiman Al-Jasser, minister for economy and planning, Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al Rabiah, minister for commerce and industry and Nizar Bin Obaid Madani, minister of state for foreign affairs and Saudi businessmen.