President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan said that his visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had been extremely useful and would positively contribute to existing close relationship between the two countries.
In a statement on his return home from a one-day visit to the Kingdom, the president expressed his great appreciation of the regular high-level contacts between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, which, he said, provided an extremely useful opportunity for exchanging views and coordinating action on important current issues. The Pakistani president said he greatly appreciated the Kingdom's considerable economic assistance to his country over years. He added that Pakistan also was most appreciative of the Kingdom's consistent support in the search for peace in South Asia and the right of the Kashmir people for self-determination.
The president said he had held wide-ranging discussions with Saudi leaders on bilateral, regional and international issues including Kashmir and Palestine. The visit was part of regular consultations between the two countries, he added.
During his stay in the Kingdom, the president had held meetings with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, the statement said. In his meeting with the Crown Prince, the president said he had discussed bilateral matters and the latest development in relations between Pakistan and India with special reference to the Kashmiri issue, the situation in the Middle East and the ''Road Map'' for peace between the Palestinians and Israelis.
Afghanistan, Iraq and matters relating to the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the unity of the Muslim nation were also discussed, the statement said. The president took the opportunity to brief the Crown Prince on the prospects for the resumption of talks between Pakistan and India and underlined the need for early resolution of the issue of Kashmir through negotiations. The statement said that the Crown Prince supported efforts for the resolution of all outstanding issues between Pakistan and India including the long-standing issue of Kashmir through dialogue.
Source: SPA
