WORLD NEWS FEBRUARY 17, 2019 / 12:28 AM / UPDATED 9 MINUTES AGO

Saudi crown prince begins Asia tour with $20 billion Pakistan investment pledge

Drazen Jorgic, Asif Shahzad
5 MIN READ

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday said Saudi Arabia has signed investment agreements worth $20 billion during his high-profile visit to Pakistan, where tensions were flaring up with nuclear-armed rival India.

Kicking off his tour of South Asia and China with a far higher Pakistan investment than expected, the crown prince said the $20 billion figure represents only the start of an economic tie-up that would bring the historic Muslim allies even closer.

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Cash-strapped and in need of friends, Pakistan welcomed the crown prince with open arms and in grandiose fashion, including sending fighter jets to guide his incoming plane once it entered Pakistani airspace.

Prime Minister Imran Khan and Pakistan’s army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa greeted Prince Mohammed on the red carpet of a military airport in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, before Khan personally drove the crown prince to the capital Islamabad.

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