Pakistan has persuaded Saudi Arabia to revive a USD 12 billion state-of-the-art deep conversion refinery and a petrochemical complex in the country, a project that was shelved by the oil-rich Gulf Kingdom during the Imran Khan regime, a media report said on Monday.

The development comes ahead of the visit of a delegation from Saudi Arabia led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Pakistan next month.

The Pakistan government has made efforts to persuade Saudi Arabia to honour the MoUs signed three years ago and invest in Pakistan, The News reported.

In 2019, Crown Prince Mohammed visited Pakistan when Khan was the prime minister, and signed MoUs for an investment of USD 21 billion, including the project of a deep conversion refinery and petrochemical complex with an investment of USD 12 billion.

Subsequently, when Khan tried to cobble up a bloc of Islamic countries with the consent of Turkey and Malaysia, outside the ambit of the Saudi-dominated Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), it irked the Gulf Kingdom.

Riyadh is particularly sensitive about any move that might undermine its leadership of the 57-member pan-Islamic body.

Bilateral ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have remained strained since then.

The Sharif government is now trying to reset ties with Riyadh by reaching out to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince.
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