ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s new ambassador to Riyadh, Lt. Gen. (r) Bilal Akbar, presented his credentials to Saudi authorities on Thursday.
Akbar, who retired from the military last month, replaces Raja Ali Ejaz, a career diplomat, who was serving in Riyadh from January 2019.
He arrived in Riyadh on Sunday to assume new responsibilities.
“H.E. Lt. General (R) Bilal Akbar, Ambassador of Pakistan presented today a copy of his credentials to H.E. Mr. Mashari bin Ali bin Naheet, Chief of Protocol in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, KSA,” the Pakistani embassy in Riyadh said in a statement.
Prior to his appointment, the new ambassador had served at the military headquarters in Rawalpindi as chief of general staff, which is considered one of the key positions in the army.
Akbar’s new role comes in the wake of an inquiry into the previous ambassador and other Riyadh mission officials over what Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Thursday was their failure to adequately take care of Pakistani workers based in Saudi Arabia.
During the current fiscal year, Saudi Arabia remained the single largest contributor to workers’ remittances by sending in $690.4 million in March. The overall inflow from the kingdom during the fiscal year amounted to $5.7 billion followed by the UAE with $4.5 billion.
There are over two million Pakistanis living in Saudi Arabia.
New Pakistani ambassador presents credentials to Saudi authorities
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New Pakistani ambassador presents credentials to Saudi authorities
- Prior to his new role, Lt. Gen. Bilal Akbar had served at the military headquarters in Rawalpindi as chief of general staff
- His appointment comes in the wake of an inquiry into the previous ambassador and other Pakistani mission officials
