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The Saudi finance minister was in Islamabad Saturday in a show of "economic support", a source familiar with the matter told AFP.Saudi Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan had met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif a day earlier, according to the premier's office, which said Islamabad was committed to expanding co-operation "in trade, investment, and economic development".Jadaan's visit comes as Islamabad hosts US-Iran talks aimed at ending the Middle East war, which he is not attending.The trip was the latest sign of new alliances emerging in the Gulf amid the ongoing rift between the region's two powerhouses."He is there as a show of economic support for Pakistan," the source familiar with the matter said.Cash-strapped Pakistan recently said it would return more than $3bn in loans to the UAE that Abu Dhabi had been rolling over since 2018.Islamabad is dependent on International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailouts and loans from friendly countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE to service its huge debt, which swallows up half of its annual revenues.Pakistan, along with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkiye, has been engaged in efforts to find an off-ramp to the US-Israeli war on Iran, which has seen the Gulf bear the brunt of Tehran's retaliatory strikes.The UAE has sustained more Iranian attacks than any other country.It has also shown a more hawkish posture towards Tehran, warning against solutions that stop short of addressing its full range of threats and securing freedom of navigation.Last month, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkiye held talks about trying to end the war in the Middle East.The kingdom enjoys close military ties with nuclear-armed Pakistan, with which it signed a mutual defence pact last year.Saudi state media reported Saturday that Pakistani fighter jets had landed in the kingdom under the auspices of the defence pact. 

His Excellency the Minister of Finance Ali bin Ahmed al-Kuwari met separately with minister of finance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Abdullah al-Jadaan; minister of economy and finance of the government of Ecuador Sariha Belén Angulo; and minister of economic affairs and finance of Iran Seyed Ali Madani Zadeh, on the sidelines of his participation in the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.**media[414830]**During the meetings, they reviewed the co-operation relations between Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, and Iran, and explored opportunities for strengthening collaboration in the fields of investment, finance, and economics, in addition to discussing several topics of mutual interest. 

The Working Group of the Qatari-Saudi Committee on Economy, Trade and Industry, part of the Qatari-Saudi Co-ordination Council, held their meeting recently in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.The meeting was co-chaired by Mohammed bin Hassan al-Malki, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Qatar, and Rakan bin Waddah Tarabzoni, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy and Planning for International Economic Affairs of Saudi Arabia. Senior officials from both countries also participated.During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the strong relations between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and discussed ways to enhance economic, trade, and industrial co-operation to serve shared interests.Discussions focused on mechanisms to facilitate import and export procedures, promote bilateral trade, and strengthen co-operation in key sectors.The parties reviewed progress on joint initiatives, addressed existing challenges, and explored potential solutions.In addition, the committee examined its strategic objectives and pathways to deepen economic integration and bilateral co-ordination, in line with the national visions of both countries.