The award was presented during a special investiture ceremony held at the Pakistan Embassy in Riyadh yesterday evening.

In his acceptance speech, Al-Farsy expressed happiness over the conferment of this prestigious honor. He said: "Saudi-Pakistani relations were deep-rooted and I value the friendship with Pakistan based on the principles of brotherhood, understanding and common approaches to issues."

The ceremony was attended by top Saudi and Pakistani officials as well as diplomats, including newly-elected Senator Sehar Kamran. A large number of businessmen, Saudi guests and Pakistani executives were also present.

Referring to his intimate personal relationship with Pakistan both as the minister of Haj and also as minister of information, Al-Farsy said: "I visited Pakistan several times in the past representing Saudi government ... once during the era of Gen. Ziaul Haq, and then during the years when Nawaz Sharif was the prime minister.

"I was also the escorting minister with President Pervez Musharraf when he visited the Kingdom a few years back," he recalled. "I still remember the day when I delivered a speech in Islamabad, when Pakistan was celebrating 100 years of the founding of the modern Saudi nation," said the former minister. He said that he was happy to see the bilateral ties being further strengthened under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.

Speaking on this occasion, Khan recalled the valuable contributions made by Al-Farsy during his tenure as minister of Haj. He said more than 180,000 Pakistani pilgrims came to Saudi Arabia last year to perform Haj. Khan also said that Al-Farsy's commitments to streamline Haj operations was widely acknowledged. "Above all, Al-Farsy has made tremendous contributions in promoting Saudi-Pak friendship," said the envoy.

Al-Farsy, who was appointed Haj minister in 2005, undertook several significant initiatives to improve the management of the annual event, Khan pointed out.

In a citation speech, Khayyan  Akbar, deputy head of the mission, said: “The utmost attention Al-Farsy reserved for the Pakistani Hujjaj and Umrah pilgrims are much admirable and have been highly appreciated by both the government and the people in Pakistan.”

He ensured that the pilgrims coming from Pakistan, who constitute one of the largest Haj contingents each year, are provided with extra care and attention, added Akbar.

He said that Al-Farsy was always forthcoming in addressing the issues related to Pakistani pilgrims. "Under his able leadership, the officials of the Saudi Ministry of Haj extended maximum cooperation to the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Pakistan, the embassy of Pakistan and the Directorate General of Haj of the government of Pakistan," said Akbar.