Khurram Dastgir (Federal Minister for Power): Prime Minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia and UAE has been very successful. Pakistan’s relations with these two countries are being strengthened based on serious attitude. Saudi Arabia has always stood by Pakistan in every hour of need. We hope Saudi government will help support the broad-based government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. When I assumed charge, we made strenuous efforts to restore the supply of power. We are successful in restoring the supply of power and there has been no load shedding in the country since 6 this morning.

Dr. Khurram Iqbal (IR Expert): Pakistan is also suffering from global economic crisis like elsewhere in the world. It was necessary for Islamabad to look towards its friendly countries to mitigate the impacts of crisis. In the last five years, there developed some misunderstandings between Islamabad and Riyadh. It was necessary for the incumbent Prime Minister to visit Saudi Arabia and improve the strained ties. The meetings were held in a very positive environment and Saudi Arabia once again proved that it is a true friend of Pakistan. Saudi Arabia is trying to wean itself from oil dependency and is trying to diversify its economy. As part of that strategy, it is also looking to increase its investments in different countries, including Pakistan.