ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Madinah, Ƶ, beginning the initial leg of his first foreign tour since taking office in August.
The premier was welcomed at Madinah Airport by the Governor of Madinah, Faisal bin Salman, Pakistani Ambassador to Ƶ Hasham bin Saddique, and other members of the Pakistani consulate.
Khan, accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Finance Minister Asad Umar, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry and Adviser for Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, is also scheduled to perform Umrah during his two-day stay in Ƶ.
وزیراعظم عمران خان کا مدینہ منورہ کی پاک سرزمین میں تاریخی استقبال
وزیر اعظم عمران خان اور انکے وفد کی مدینہ منورہ میں روضہ رسول کی زیارت، وفد کے لیے روضہ رسول صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کے دروازے خصوصی طور پر کھولے گئے
— PTI (@PTIofficial)
“The prime minister will call on His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz and hold a bilateral meeting with the crown prince (His Royal Highness Mohammad Bin Salman). The king will also host a state banquet for the prime minister at the Royal Court. Accompanying ministers will also meet their counterparts to discuss bilateral cooperation,” reads a statement issued by the Foreign Office.
The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Dr. Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen, will also call on the PM during his visit.
Although bilateral relations and the regional security situation are on the agenda of Khan’s visit, a more pertinent, urgent priority will be a possible economic bailout package sought from Ƶ by the new Pakistani Government.
------
READ MORE:
Pakistan PM Khan expected to boost aid and trade from visit to Kingdom
PM Khan bats his way back into the hearts of diaspora
Experts weigh in on what to expect from Pakistani PM Khan’s visit to Ƶ
------
In 2014, six months after Pakistan obtained its last IMF bailout, Ƶ loaned Pakistan $1.5 billion, which the government used to strengthen its currency. Pakistan’s current account deficit increased to 43 percent ($18 billion) in the fiscal year that ended June 30.
Analysts, however, told Reuters that a fresh bailout package from the IMF, which would be Pakistan’s 13th since the late 1980s, is inevitable.
PM Imran Khan reaches Ƶ on his first official foreign visit: he is accompanied by few cabinet members, including foreign minister and finance minister .
— PTI (@PTIofficial)
While the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Government has been debating several options to plug the hole in Pakistan’s rapidly draining foreign exchange reserves, it is also avidly trying to seek financial assistance from allied countries (including Ƶ, China and the UAE) as opposed to going to the IMF.
Before the visit, Finance Minister Asad Umar said that IMF assistance would remain a “fallback option.
