PM Shehbaz, Crown Prince Salman agree to expedite $5bn Saudi investment in Pakistan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have agreed to expedite the first wave of a planned $5 billion Saudi investment package for Pakistan, according to the joint statement issued by both countries. The two leaders had held a meeting a day ago during the prime minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia in his first foreign trip since his election. In January last year, the crown prince had directed the Saudi Development Fund (SDF) to study increasing the deposit amount in the State of Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to $5bn. The move, according to the Saudi Press Agency, confirmed Saudi Arabia’s position on supporting the economy of Pakistan and its “sisterly people”.