Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have agreed to remove visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and official or special passports, in a move aimed at facilitating official travel and strengthening institutional contacts between the two countries.
The development was announced by Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar following his meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Dar said in a post on X that he was pleased to sign the agreement with his Saudi counterpart concerning the exemption of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and official passports.
The agreement covers a specific category of passport holders and does not represent a general visa-free arrangement for ordinary Pakistani and Saudi travellers.
The agreement is expected to make high-level contacts and institutional exchanges between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia easier. The latest announcement therefore concerns official travel rather than tourism, ordinary business travel or general public access.
Dar described the agreement as another step toward expanding the strategic partnership between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. He said the measure would facilitate high-level contacts and institutional exchanges between the two countries.
The announcement comes amid continued diplomatic engagement between Islamabad and Riyadh. Pakistani and Saudi officials have maintained regular consultations on bilateral and regional matters in recent weeks.
Saudi Arabia has also recently signed similar visa-exemption arrangements with other countries for holders of diplomatic, special or service passports, including Serbia and Djibouti.
What the Decision Means
The agreement is expected to reduce administrative requirements for eligible Pakistani and Saudi government officials and diplomats travelling between the two countries.
For ordinary passport holders, however, the announcement does not indicate that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have introduced general visa-free travel.
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The development nevertheless adds another institutional mechanism to the long-standing relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, with both sides continuing to emphasize closer coordination and cooperation across areas of mutual interest.
