New Delhi: The visit of Saudi Arabia's crown prince Muhammad bin Salman to Pakistan has been postponed, news agency ANI reported.
According to reports, he was scheduled to visit Pakistan on November 21 where he was expected to announce an additional bailout package of $4.2 billion.
The reason for postponement has not been specified. According to reports, the Crown Prince will now directly visit Indonesia to attend the G20 Summit.
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Earlier, Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari paid a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, to give the final touches to arrangements for the Saudi Crown Prince’s visit.
It is to be noted that last week, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had said that Saudi Arabia will provide an additional amount of USD 4.2 billion to Pakistan, as per reports.
“China and Saudi Arabia have given assurances to Pakistani delegations under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during recent visits that they will take care of Islamabad’s financial requirements till June 2023. Now the real effective exchange rate (REER) in terms of rupee against the US dollar has come down to Rs 190 against the US dollar and no one will be allowed to play with our exchange rate,” ANI quoted Dar as saying.
The visit of the Saudi Prince was being planned at a time when the Pakistan coalition government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is facing economic challenges and when Saudi Arabia is involved in a diplomatic row with the US over the recent cut in oil supplies by major exporting countries.