Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will embark on a three-day official visit to Saudi Arabia on Friday during which he will discuss all areas of bilateral cooperation with the Kingdom's top leadership, as the two nations work to rebuild ties after recent setbacks

He has been invited by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. The Foreign Minister and other members of the Cabinet will be part of his delegation, the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement.

The Prime Minister's consultations with the Saudi leadership will cover all areas of bilateral cooperation including economic, trade, investment, energy, job opportunities for the Pakistani workforce, and welfare of Pakistani diaspora in the Kingdom.

“Several bilateral agreements/MoUs are expected to be signed during the visit,” according to the FO.

Khan will also meet the Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Yousef Al-Othaimeen, the Secretary-General of the World Muslim League, Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa and the Imams of the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Medina.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have long-standing and historic fraternal relations, rooted deep in common faith, shared history and mutual support. Saudi Arabia is home to more than two million Pakistanis.

Regular high-level bilateral visits continue to play a pivotal role in providing impetus to the fraternal ties and close cooperation between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, according to the FO.

But the ties have come under periodic stain due to different reasons since 2015 when Pakistan refused to send troops for the Saudi war in Yemen.

Pakistan is also believed to be not happy with the budding ties between Saudi Arabia and India.

The difference came to open when Pakistan had to pull out of a summit of Muslim leaders in Malaysia in 2019 as Saudi Arabia was not part of it and saw it as an effort to create a rival group of non-Arab Muslim countries.

Pakistan also returned USD 3 billion to Saudi Arabia after the summit fiasco. Foreign minister Mahmood Qureshi had criticised the Saudi Kingdom for failing to call a meeting of OIC foreign ministers on the Kashmir issue.

However, efforts were being made to stitch the differences and put the relationship back on track.

The breakthrough came when Bin Salman in March called Khan over the telephone and invited him for a visit.

Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa who is believed to have played a role in rebuilding mutual trust already reached Riyadh on Tuesday to ensure that the visit of Prime Minister Khan will be a smooth one.