ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed bin Abdulkarim Al-Khereiji on Sunday to discuss the strategic partnership and stability and security in the region.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s 22nd Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting, in Jeddah, a Foreign Office statement said.
The OIC session was organised to discuss Muslim states’ response to Israel’s recognition of Somaliland.
“Both sides discussed strengthening Pakistan–Saudi strategic partnership and reaffirmed close cooperation within the OIC for peace, stability, and security in the region,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister @MIshaqDar50 met Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed bin Abdulkarim Al-Khereiji @W_Elkhereiji, on the sidelines of 22nd Extraordinary Session of the OIC, in Jeddah.
Both sides discussed strengthening Pakistan–Saudi strategic partnership… pic.twitter.com/aCWEAouffY
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) January 11, 2026
Dar also held a meeting with OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha on the sidelines of the conference. During the discussion, the Pakistani minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s strong condemnation of Israel’s recognition of Somaliland and reiterated Islamabad’s firm support for Somalia’s sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, the Foreign Office said.
According to the statement, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister also urged the OIC secretary general to intensify efforts toward the realisation of the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia share long-standing, cordial relations spanning several decades, with cooperation across key sectors including defense, trade, economy, agriculture, livestock, and minerals.
In September last year, the two countries signed a mutual defence agreement under which any act of aggression against one state would be considered an attack on both.
Saudi Arabia remains Pakistan’s largest source of remittances and hosts more than 2.5 million Pakistani expatriates, highlighting the depth of economic and people-to-people ties between the two countries.
The two sides have also agreed to launch an Economic Cooperation Framework to strengthen trade and investment ties, following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative summit in Riyadh in October last year.
