Ambassador-designate to Saudi Arabia Lt Gen (retd) Bilal Akbar calls on President Dr. Arif Alvi

ISLAMABAD, President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday said Pakistan highly valued its ties with Saudi Arabia and wanted to further strengthen bilateral relations in diverse fields.

Talking to Pakistan’s ambassador-designate to Saudi Arabia Lt Gen (retd) Bilal Akbar here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, the president said the two countries shared bonds of history, culture and faith, and held commonality of views on regional and international issues.

Emphasizing the need to facilitate Pakistanis residing in Saudi Arabia, the president asked the ambassador-designate to help address the issues being faced by the Pakistani community.

The president congratulated Lt Gen (retd) Bilal Akbar on his appointment as Pakistan’s envoy to Saudi Arabia and expressed confidence that he would make concerted efforts for further strengthening bilateral economic and investment cooperation.

President Alvi asked the ambassador-designate to make all out efforts towards the exchange of high-level visits between the two countries.

He also highlighted the need to raise the issue of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir at all available fora in Saudi Arabia