ISLAMABAD (Staff Report) – Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif Wednesday left for Riyadh on a three-day official visit to hold important talks with Saudi leadership.
They are visiting the Kingdom on invitation of the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz al-Saud to witness the military exercise ‘North Thunder’.
During the visit the Prime Minister and the Army Chief will hold meetings with top Saudi officials including King Salman and Saudi Defence Minister. Matters related Saudi Arabia led 34-country alliance to combat terrorism are also expected to be taken up.
Around twenty other Heads of State and Government have also been invited to witness the ongoing military exercise and its closing ceremony.
Troops from 21 countries, including Pakistan, are participating in the exercise, in the northern region of Saudi Arabia. The main goal of the exercise is to improve training in responding to threats posed by terrorist groups.
This is consecutively the second joint trip of Nawaz Sharif and Raheel Sharif to Saudi Arabia. Previously, the two flew to Riyadh and Tehran in a bid to normalise disturbed ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
