Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz will hold wide-ranging talks with the Pakistani leaders on the security situation, bilateral ties and regional situation during his two-day state visit.

Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam told reporters at the weekly briefing here on Monday that King Abdullah was visiting Pakistan at the invitation of Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf from Feb. 1 to 2.

He will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising cabinet members, government officials and business leaders.

This will be King Abdullah's fifth visit to Pakistan. The last visit was in Oct. 2003, in his capacity as the Crown Prince.

Aslam said that the visit of the Saudi monarch was taking place at a critical time in the region. The Pakistani president's talks with King Abdullah evolving security situation in the region would be of particular importance.

She said that Pakistan appreciated deeply the solidarity and support readily extended by the leadership of Saudi Arabia in the wake of the devastating earthquake on Oct. 8. At the instructions of King Abdullah, the Saudi authorities set up an air bridge with Pakistan soon after the earthquake to ensure a steady supply of relief goods for the affected people. Saudi Arabia has additionally pledged 573 million U.S. dollars for the rebuilding and rehabilitation tasks in the affected areas.

The spokesperson said that Pakistan's longstanding and fraternal ties with Saudi Arabia have always been exceptionally close.

Saudi Arabia is Pakistan's largest oil supplier, and trade between the two countries during the 2004-05 fiscal year amounted to 2.8 billion dollars. The Saudi investments in Pakistan during this period stood at 275 million dollars.

Source: Xinhua