Saudi Arabia hands Pakistan £16bn for oil project as economy on brink of collapse

Prince Mohammed said the money would be directed to a large oil refinery and petrochemical project in Gwadar, south-west Pakistan, as well as on renewable energy and mining. The prince, who signed deals last weekend, said: “Pakistan is going to be very, very important country in the future and we want to be sure we are part of that. “It’s big for phase one, and definitely our commercial relationship will grow every month and every year, and it will be beneficial to both countries.”

The Saudi Arabian prince was awarded Pakistan’s highest civilian award by Pakistan President Arif Alvi after the generous pledge.

Prince Mohammed also said that Pakistan was an important country for Saudi Arabia to build ties with and said the “future is exciting for both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia after joining hands”.

The country is suffering a financial crisis as it has only £6.1 bn($8bn) left in foreign reserves and is relying on international backers for support.

Pakistan’s government has not said where the rest of the investment is due to be spent.

Pakistan is seeking its 13th bailout since the late 1930s and Saudi Arabia ahas already provided a £4.6bn ($6bn) loan.

The prince’s trip comes after a car bomb killed 44 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir on Thursday.

A Pakistan-based militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammad, said it was behind the suicide bomb.

Pakistan has denied any role in the bombing, but India has accused the state of being complicit and said it would be isolating the country.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has said they would be trying to “de-escalate tensions between the two countries, neighbouring countries, and to see of there is a path forward to resolving those differences peacefully”.

Prince Mohammed was supposed to also visit Indonesia and Malaysia on his trip, but those have been postponed.

As part of the tour, the prince is trying to improve Saudi Arabia’s image international following the murder of the author Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.

source: express.co.uk