President Arif Alvi conferred on Monday the Nishan-Pakistan on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman at Awan-e-Sadr.

The Nishan-e- Pakistan is the highest civil award. During the ceremony, the Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and various other leaders were also in attendance.

During the president's speech, Alvi  started by saying that it was an honor for him to host the ceremony. He said that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have been indispensable partners for a very long time. He said even though there was a geographical distance between the two countries, they were very close at hearts.

The president added that the recent visit of the premier and His Highness's visit cements the friendship between the two countries.

The Saudi crown prince also addressed the ceremony and said thanked the president for honoring him with Pakistan's highest award. "The Saudi crown prince said that the Pakistani brothers participated truthfully and effectively in the great development project that Saudi Arabia witnessed, especially the enlargement project of Masjid-e-Haram and Masjid-e-Nabwi. He said that more than 2 million Pakistanis were working in Saudi Arabia and were contributing to the development of both the countries.

Ending his speech MBS said, "I wish all the best to the president and the prime minister in the service of this country and its people."

Earlier, the Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Saudi crown prince arrived at the Presidential House in a horse-drawn carriage. They were warmly welcomed by the president, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry.