Saudi minister thanks Pakistan for extending support in resolving Rohingya Muslims issue

Saudi Arabian Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif on Tuesday thanked his Pakistani counterpart Mohsin Naqvi for Islamabad’s support in resolving the issue of Rohingya Muslims.

The longstanding issue of legal status for Rohingya Muslims was also taken up, among other affairs of mutual interest, during the discussion in a meeting between the two dignitaries, the Foreign Office said.

A significant number of Rohingya Muslim refugees live in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

The Ministry of Interior in a statement last week said that the meeting between Naqvi and Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Malki was told that the long-standing issue regarding the legal status of Rohingya Muslims living between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia was resolved.

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It had added that a formal agreement between both sides will be signed in the Kingdom this week.

The ambassador had thanked the government of Pakistan for its positive role in moving the matter toward a solution.

The FO said the meeting between Naqvi and Prince Abdulaziz discussed security matters and ways to further strengthen cooperation between the interior ministries of the two countries.

The Saudi Arabian interior minister also extended condolences to the families of the personnel martyred in the attack on the Federal Constabulary Headquarters.

Both sides agreed on a training exchange programme for police and paramilitary forces.

It was also decided that a meeting of the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia Interior Ministries Working Group will be held in December.

“Saudi Arabia is the second home of every Pakistani, and we take pride in our enduring relationship with the Kingdom,” Naqvi said.

Federal Interior Secretary Muhammad Khurram Agha, Pakistan’s Ambassador Ahmed Farooq, Commandant Federal Constabulary Nazir Gaara, Commandant National Police Academy Muhammad Idrees, and senior officials from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior were also present on the occasion.