Gilani is on a two-day visit to the Kingdom. He is accompanied by Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim and Senior Minister of Industries and Defense Production Chaudhry Pervaiz Ilahi.

Gilani said the 1.5 million Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia are playing a key role in building the national economy and termed them “an asset for the nation.”

Over 600 Pakistanis have invested around SR1 billion in the Kingdom to boost commercial ties between the two nations, Gilani said.

The prime minister interacted with investors and businessmen and sought to enhance trade ties between the two countries.

“Our multifaceted relations with the Kingdom is enhanced by a vibrant Pakistani community which is contributing in the nation building and supporting Pakistan’s economy through their remittances,” Gilani said, while speaking at an iftar party organized by Pakistan Investors Forum here on Monday.

The vice president of the forum, Salman Arain, welcomed the prime minister and briefed him about the group’s activities.

The Pakistani prime minister said that the country was facing problems on four fronts. First, due to global recession and instability, second the crunch of energy, third the effects of the devastating flood, which displaced 15 million people and caused massive damages of up to $10 billion, and fourth the war on terror, in which Pakistan is a major player.

“Through the politics of reconciliation, we have been able to bring political stability to the country, and thus achieving economic stability. It is a known fact that economic stability was not possible without political stability. The government is striving hard to provide food and shelter to flood-affected people with our own resources as well as with the help of brotherly countries like Saudi Arabia,” Gilani said.

However, he said the national economy was resilient and the government was braving these challenges by pursuing a vigorous reform agenda. He said through strong determination and commitment the results were evident and mentioned that the amount of foreign remittances have risen to $12 billion, the country’s exports to $26 billion, foreign exchange reserves to $18.3 billion and the stock markets, despite the global and US recession were doing pretty well.

Gilani attributed all these changes to the politics of reconciliation and consistency that his government was pursuing.

Gilani is scheduled to meet Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and discuss regional and bilateral issues.

About his meeting with King Abdullah, Gilani said that “Our relations with the Kingdom are very strong. When we meet, King Abdullah and I will discuss all major issues.”

He added, “When we came to power, the country was importing wheat but now after over three years of our rule, we are now exporting wheat. And this food sufficiency is one of the main achievements of our government.”

Gilani said that the government’s record on war on terror is also commendable as the number of terror attacks has come down considerably. The campaign against terror groups is continuing and the country’s armed forces are capable to tackle this menace.

Speaking about Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, Gilani said, “Our nuclear warheads are in safe custody and there was no reason to worry about their safety.”

He assured the Pakistani expatriates, “the country was in safe hands and its nuclear program was safe and secure and there was no need to worry. The civil society was vibrant, judiciary was independent and the media free.”

Earlier, Pakistan’s Ambassador Naeem Khan in his address lauded the efforts of the Pakistani investors in the Kingdom and assured them of all possible help and assistance from the Embassy and the consulate for felicitating them in their future investment.