Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held talks with Saudi King Salman yesterday as part of efforts to ease regional tensions between the kingdom and Iran.
Sharif is to head today to Iran where he is expected to meet President Hassan Rouhani.
Saudi Arabia and a number of its allies cut diplomatic ties with Iran in early January, with relations between the rival nations to a new low.
Riyadh reacted after protesters burned Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran after the kingdom on January 2 executed 47 terrorists.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, Salman “welcomed the prime minister of Pakistan and his delegation” to his palace.
The report gave no details of their discussions, which SPA earlier said were to touch on regional as well as bilateral issues.
“Pakistan is deeply concerned at the recent escalation of tensions between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Islamabad’s foreign ministry spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said ahead of Sharif’s trip.
He said the prime minister had called for a peaceful settlement of differences in the interests of Muslim unity.
“The purpose of the visit is to mediate and to end the standoff between the two countries,” a Pakistani government official said, requesting anonymity.
Sharif arrived two days after a historic international deal lifted sanctions on Iran in return for a scaling back of its nuclear capabilities.
Riyadh fears the agreement will only further embolden Iran, which it accuses of regional interference.
SPA said the prime minister was accompanied by Pakistan’s powerful army chief, General Raheel Sharif.
Pakistan’s parliament last year refused to send forces to help a Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
But this month Islamabad said it “welcomes” a separate Saudi coalition of 34 nations to combat “terrorism” in the Islamic world.
Pakistan has deep military ties with Saudi Arabia.
Sharif himself has close personal ties with the Saudi royal family who sheltered him during years in exile.