Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement on Tuesday to abolish visa requirements for holders of diplomatic, official and special passports.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar signed the agreement with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, he said in a post on X.
DPM Dar hoped the step would “further facilitate high-level engagement and institutional exchanges, and contribute to advancing our enduring and brotherly strategic partnership across all areas of mutual interest”.
The two countries share robust bilateral cooperation, with frequent high-level diplomatic exchanges on both sides. On August 7, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, alongside Turkiye, also signed a joint defence agreement pledging to strengthen collective security, deepen defence cooperation and promote peace and stability in the region and beyond.
Later that month, the two countries agreed to boost Pakistani agricultural and food exports to the Gulf state up to $3 billion. The agreement was reached during the visit of a Saudi delegation led by Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Engineer Abdulrahman Al-Fadley.
In July, Saudi Arabia had also launched a multiple-entry Umrah visa with one-year validity from the date of issuance, enabling pilgrims to enter the kingdom multiple times, with a cumulative stay of up to 90 days each year. In 2024, in another relief, Riyadh eased tourist visa requirements for Pakistani travellers, allowing them to submit a bank statement showing a minimum monthly credit amount of $750 or its equivalent.
Dar, Saudi FM discuss Makkah defence pact
In a separate meeting with the Saudi FM, DPM Dar also expressed Pakistan’s solidarity with Saudi Arabia, condemning recent attacks on the country, the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement on X.
The foreign ministers also discussed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, reaffirming “their commitment to strengthening cooperation under the Agreement and advancing regional peace, stability, and security”, FO said.
The joint defence pact empowers the member states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all of them.
“The two sides also underscored the importance of sustained high-level exchanges and continued close coordination on bilateral and regional matters of mutual interest,” the FO statement added.
Fresh fighting between the Houthis and the Yemeni government has dragged in Riyadh, with the Houthis declaring a maritime blockade on the kingdom and targeting its ships in the Red Sea.
On Sep 18, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, amid the attacks, said that Pakistan will go to “any extent” to defend Saudi Arabia, adding that Islamabad’s commitment to the kingdom’s security is “unconditional”.
Last week, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif also reaffirmed that Pakistan would “practically and diplomatically” stand by Saudi Arabia against Yemen’s Houthi rebels if the situation escalated.
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