ISLAMABAD • Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said his country plans to invest a whopping US$20 billion (S$27 billion) in Pakistan as he began a swing through Asia, at a time when his country’s ties with the West have waned.

The two nations signed memorandums of understanding in the energy and agriculture sectors, including one for a US$10 billion oil refinery in the south-western city of Gwadar, where China has helped build a deep water port. Saudi Arabia also signed a pact to provide Pakistan with crude oil and petroleum products on delayed payments to meets its energy needs.

“We are creating a great future for Saudi Arabia and Pakistan,” Prince Mohammed, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, said at a reception by Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad on Sunday, at the start of a two-day trip.

Prince Mohammed gave no time frame for the US$20 billion in projects, which would dwarf the roughly US$53 million Saudi Arabia has invested in Pakistan in the last three years.

The Crown Prince also “ordered the immediate release of 2,107 Pakistani prisoners”, after a request by the Pakistani Prime Minister, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said in a post on Twitter.

Prince Mohammed’s stop in Pakistan is the first leg of a broader Asia trip that will also take him to India, South Korea and China, where he is scheduled to meet President Xi Jinping. He plans to head to India today after postponing his trips to Indonesia and Malaysia.

The Crown Prince’s plan to forge closer ties with Asia’s largest economies comes as Saudi Arabia’s relationships with the West have frayed over the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, allegedly by Saudi security agents, in Istanbul. The Saudi authorities have repeatedly denied the Prince’s involvement and said Mr Khashoggi was killed by government agents in a botched plan to force his return home.

Prince Mohammed’s investment plans may assist Mr Khan’s efforts to revive an economy hurt by widening current account and fiscal deficits. They may also help Pakistan become less reliant on China, which is investing about US$60 billion in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Saudi Arabia has already given a US$3 billion loan to Pakistan, while the United Arab Emirates provided another US$1 billion to help South Asia’s second-biggest economy avert a financial crisis. Pakistani Finance Minister Asad Umar said this month that the nation is close to signing a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund to boost its dwindling foreign reserves.

Prince Mohammed’s visit to Islamabad and New Delhi comes at a time of renewed tensions between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan. About 40 Indian paramilitary personnel died during a suicide bombing in the disputed region of Kashmir last week. India blames Pakistan for the attack, a claim denied by Islamabad.

Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir told a press conference in Islamabad yesterday: “Our objective is to try to de-escalate tensions between the two countries, neighbouring countries, and to see if there is a path forward to resolving those differences peacefully.”

BLOOMBERG, REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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