Shoura Council President Abdullah Al-Asheikh receives a Parliamentary delegation from Pakistan led by Sen. Mushahid Hussain at his office in Riyadh on Tuesday. (SPA)

A six-member delegation of Pakistani parliamentarians and scholars visited the Shoura Council on Tuesday to hold discussions with Saudi officials on improving ties between the two legislatures.

Pakistan Sen. Mushahid Hussain led the delegation, which met with Shoura Council President Abdullah Al-Asheikh at his office.

Hussain said the two countries enjoy close fraternal relations and have always stood by each other in testing times. Saudi Arabia supported Pakistan during several natural calamities, he said. There has also been close and frequent contact at the highest levels.

He said millions of Pakistani workers have helped to develop the Kingdom over the last several decades. Around 1.9 million Pakistanis continue living and working in the Kingdom.
The other members of the delegation thanked Al-Asheikh and the Saudi government for the warmth and hospitality they received during their visit.

Other members included Sen. Farhatullah Babar, Sen. Begum Najma Hameed, Muhammad Hussain Akbar, Fakhar Hasan Al-Karavi and Qazi Niyaz Hussain. The Shoura chief had invited the Pakistan side to visit the country.

Pakistani Ambassador Mohammed Naeem Khan and Deputy Head of Mission Khayyam Akbar accompanied the Pakistani delegation. From the Saudi side, Shoura Council member Abdullah bin Hamoud Al-Harbi, who is also president of the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia
Friendship Group, took part in the meeting. The Pakistani delegation later had a meeting with the members of the friendship group to discuss bilateral relations.

Officials from both sides said that they could learn from each other with closer cooperation and more parliamentary visits. The Pakistani delegation had arrived in Riyadh on June 2 and will also travel to other cities in the Kingdom, perform Umrah and visit Madinah.

The two sides expressed satisfaction on the state of bilateral relations and hoped that the countries would further diversify their relationship, in light of decisions taken during the recent visit by Deputy Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Prince Salman, and the recently concluded Joint Ministerial Meeting in Riyadh.

They also called for the Muslim Ummah to unite to tackle critical issues. Both sides lauded the promotion of interfaith dialogue, one of the main initiatives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to develop peace and solidarity among people of all faiths in the world.