Tag Crown Prince

ISLAMABAD:( Media 92 News) Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir will arrive in Islamabad today on a day-long official visit.

The Saudi foreign minister will meet Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi during the visit to discuss bilateral matters and regional situation.

Al-Jubeir was scheduled to arrive in Islamabad last week, however he had delayed his visit. The reason behind the change in the schedule was not stated.

Qureshi had said Al-Jubeir was coming to Pakistan with an important message from Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

Last month, the Saudi crown prince had visited Pakistan. In his joint press conference with Prime Minister Imran Khan before departing, MbS had said, “It feels home in Pakistan…. We believe in Pakistan’s future, we believe that Pakistan has huge opportunities. In 2030, Pakistan will be next to two huge economies, China and India.”

“Pakistan will definitely benefit from these neighbours, there’s great leadership to put Pakistan in the right position and we can see that happening, because in 2018, Pakistani economy grew by 5 per cent. So we believe that Pakistan has huge potential and I believe it could be one of the 20 biggest economies in future.”

ISLAMABAD:(media92news online) Pakistan will formally propose to Saudi Arabia for initiation of a dialogue on preferential trade agreement (PTA) to promote bilateral trade and investment.
The proposal will be raised among other issues during the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s two-day visit to Pakistan.
The crown prince will reach the country on February 16, accompanied by a high-powered business delegation.
Official sources told media92news that the preferential treaty will cover tariff and non-tariff barriers (NTBs) which will help diversify Pakistan’s export basket to the kingdom.
Since 2006, there is a complete deadlock in negotiations on the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with the Gulf Cooperation Council. So far only two rounds of negotiations have been held on it.
Officials believe that this issue will be raised during the crown prince’s visit.
Pakistan’s bilateral trade with Saudi Arabia has posted a consistent decline, dropping by a half to $2.5 billion in 2016-17 from $5.08bn in 2013-14. One reason behind this is the falling value of petroleum products which constitute 50pc of total imports.
The country’s exports to the kingdom are decreasing as well mainly due to a drop in proceeds of rice, fruits, vegetable preparations, apparel and clothing and made-up articles of textile material.
Rice is one of the major export items to Saudi Arabia but now the commodity’s market is being captured by other countries, particularly India.
If an agreement is reached on PTA, Saudi Arabia will become the second country after Iran with which Pakistan will have a bilateral preferential arrangement.
Other issues that will be discussed include easing of procedures for business visa which currently involves multiple departments and takes at least six weeks. Saudi Arabia has also increased the business visa fee to Rs74,000 per person for attending any business activity in the kingdom and Pakistan will be looking for a fee waiver .
The Pak-Saudi Joint Business Council was formulated in 2000 to enhance interaction between top chambers of the two countries. The body has met thrice in the last 18 years, which shows its seriousness in promoting trade.
Pakistan is likely to raise the issue of removing ban on its shrimp exports to Saudi Arabia as well as seeking licence for State Life Insurance to do business in the kingdom, besides holding single-country exhibitions to promote market access for its products.
Possible areas for investment with Saudi Arabia include the halal food sector, cattle farming, milk, fisheries and other agro industry projects.
For resolving NTB, two important issues will be discussed; mutual recognition agreement to avoid delay in customs and clearance of Pakistan’s export shipments at the kingdom’s ports and quality assurance certificates to be recognised by Saudi Food and Drug Authority.

WASHINGTON:(Net News/ Media 92 News) Two weeks after he disappeared, The Washington Post on Wednesday published what it said appears to be Jamal Khashoggi’s final column, in which the missing Saudi journalist writes of the importance of a free press in the Arab world.

Such a forum is currently lacking, says Khashoggi, a Post contributor and US resident who disappeared entering Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

“The Arab world is facing its own version of an Iron Curtain, imposed not by external actors but through domestic forces vying for power,” he writes.

“The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events. More important, we need to provide a platform for Arab voices,” Khashoggi writes.

“Through the creation of an independent international forum, isolated from the influence of nationalist governments spreading hate through propaganda, ordinary people in the Arab world would be able to address the structural problems their societies face.”

The ultimate fate of Khashoggi — whose writings have been critical of powerful Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — is still unknown, but leaks by anonymous Turkish officials have painted a picture of him allegedly meeting a grisly demise in the consulate at the hands of Saudi agents.

Saudi Arabia has denied to the United States having knowledge of what happened at the consulate.

In the introduction to Khashoggi’s column — which was accompanied by a photo of the smiling writer — the Post’s Global Opinions editor Karen Attiah said the newspaper held off on publishing it in the hopes that he would return.

“Now I have to accept: That is not going to happen. This is the last piece of his I will edit for The Post,” Attiah wrote.

“This column perfectly captures his commitment and passion for freedom in the Arab world. A freedom he apparently gave his life for.”

Canada-based Cirque du Soleil staged their first show in Saudi Arabia on Sunday with a dazzling display of high-wire thrills, despite a diplomatic spat between Ottawa and Riyadh.

The acrobatic troupe performed in Riyadh to mark the Saudi national day, more than a month after the kingdom expelled Canada´s ambassador and froze all new trade following Ottawa´s vigorous calls for the release of activists jailed in the Gulf state.

Costumed performers slithered up ropes, swaying, twisting and doing mid-air acrobatics at a packed King Fahd sports stadium, with Cirque du Soleil saying the show was one of its biggest one-off productions ever.

More than 80 artists took the stage, with 250 costumes tailor made to conform to local traditions in the kingdom, it said.

The announcement of the show was first made in Los Angeles in April during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman´s multi-city visit to the United States.

But diplomatic tensions had cast doubt over the show.

Canada has refused to give ground in the dispute, which erupted in August, vowing to always stand up for human rights globally, even as diplomats say high-level negotiations are ongoing between the two countries to resolve differences.

Riyadh ordered Saudi students to pull out from Canadian universities, though more than 1,000 medical students have been granted an extension in a partial rollback.

National day was celebrated across the kingdom on Sunday with a raucous display of concerts and folk dance.

Some 990,000 fireworks were planned across 20 cities, including Riyadh, the information ministry said.

Iconic buildings in Riyadh were bathed in green light and stereos blared patriotic songs as revellers raced through the streets in cars bedecked with the national flag.

The kingdom has cautiously begun introducing entertainment, including music concerts, despite the risk of riling sidelined hardliners.

It is part of Prince Mohammed´s far-reaching liberalisation drive that has ended decades-long bans on cinemas and women drivers and allowed women and men to attend some concerts together.

In February, Saudi Arabia´s General Entertainment Authority (GEA) announced it will stage more than 5,000 festivals and concerts in 2018, double the number of last year, and pump $64 billion in the sector in the coming decade.