Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal will travel to Pakistan on Jan. 6 to hold wide-ranging consultations with high-ranking Pakistani officials on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual concern.

“The focus of the talks will be mainly on a roadmap for collaboration and cooperation with an aim to further strengthen strategic relations,” said a reliable diplomatic source here Wednesday.

Asked about the visit of Prince Saud and his meetings with top Pakistani officials as reported by the Pakistan Observer, an English-language daily published from Islamabad, the source said: “Relations between the two nations have been close historically, and the visit by Prince Saud will further deepen ties.”

The report said Prince Saud would discuss regional security, and Middle East and international issues with the Pakistani leadership.

The Saudi foreign minister was invited to Islamabad after he met with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly in New York last year.

The visit of Prince Saud with more than a dozen top Saudi officials is also significant keeping in mind the deadlock on Syria, the situation in Afghanistan and the Iranian nuclear agreement.

Pakistan on Thursday said it would raise the issue of US drone strikes inside its territory at the United Nations Human Rights Council. Saudi Arabia was recently elected to the council.

As two of the world’s major Islamic states, the Kingdom and Pakistan are leading members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Saudi Arabia, which hosts about 1.5 million Pakistani workers, is the largest source of oil for Pakistan.