: The Kingdom will witness in next few days a flurry of diplomatic activities beginning Monday, when Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman holds talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan’s army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif.
In another meeting this week, the king will discuss bilateral, regional and international issues with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Several other world leaders — French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, US Secretary of State John Kerry and German Foreign Minister Walter Steinmeier — are also due here in next few days. Steinmeier will travel to Tehran before flying to Riyadh early next month.
Steinmeier, whose country is the guest of honor for Janadriyah this year, will attend the inaugural ceremony of the heritage festival.
Fabius, who will travel to the UAE on Monday to take part in an energy forum, is expected in Riyadh for official talks on Tuesday, according to Western diplomatic sources.
Referring to the visit of Kerry, a US State Department statement said that Kerry is coming on Jan. 23 for talks with Saudi officials and GCC foreign ministers.
About Sharif’s visit, Pakistan’s Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said Sharif, accompanied by adviser to premier Sartaj Aziz, would arrive in Riyadh on Monday to meet with King Salman. The trip comes amid mounting tensions in the region over the Syria war and arson attacks on Saudi missions in Iran.
According to Pakistani media, Islamabad has offered to mediate to end tensions in the region.
Sharif’s visit comes close on the heels of the visits of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir to Pakistan for key talks earlier this month(GHAZANFAR ALI KHAN)
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