The Prime Minister in his first foreign visit is accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Finance Minister Asad Umar, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhary and Advisor on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood. The Prime Minister will pay his respects at Roza-e-Rasool (PBUH) and perform Umra.
During his visit, the Prime Minister will call on King Salman bin Abdulaziz and hold a bilateral meeting with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. The Saudi King will also host a state banquet for the Prime Minister at the Royal Court. According to a press statement released by the Pakistani Embassy in Riyadh, Prime Minister Khan is set to discuss many important bilateral, regional and international issues with the Saudi leadership.
The matters related to welfare of the Pakistani community in Saudi Arabia and ways to enhance people to people contacts are also likely to come up for discussion.
Secretary General of Organization of Islamic Cooperation Dr Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen will also call on the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister along with delegation will arrive in Abu Dhabi in the evening on 19 September, and will be received by Mohammaed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of UAE. He is visiting the UAE on the invitation of the Crown Prince. The two leaders will discuss issues of bilateral interest.
The Prime Minister is also expected to witness a cricket match between Pakistan and India to be played in Dubai today (Wednesday).
Reuters adds: Prime Minister Imran Khan left for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the foreign office said, amid speculation he may be seeking economic assistance from a staunch ally instead of another IMF bailout.
Khan, on his first international visit since taking office last month, was accompanied by Finance Minister Asad Umar and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at a time when the country is trying to avert a balance of payments crisis stemming from a large current account deficit.
Analysts say a fresh bailout package from the International Monetary Fund, which would be its 13th since late 1980s, is inevitable.
But Umar recently said an IMF rescue was a "fallback option" and that the government was exploring other avenues for assistance, which was broadly interpreted as Islamabad seeking help from China and Saudi Arabia, both of which have provided vast loans in the past.
"The Prime Minister will call on His Majesty King Salman and hold a bilateral meeting with the Crown Prince," Pakistan's foreign office said in a statement. "The two leaders will discuss issues of bilateral interest."
In 2014, six months after Pakistan obtained its last IMF bailout, Saudi Arabia loaned Pakistan $1.5 billion, which the government used to strengthen its rupee currency.
Pakistan's current account deficit widened 43 percent to $18 billion in the fiscal year that ended June 30, while the fiscal deficit has ballooned to 6.6 percent of the economy.
Khan's government came to power on the back of populist assurances to root out corruption and reduce poverty. Since taking office, the government has initiated a number of symbolic austerity measures while promising social welfare reforms.
The government on Tuesday announced tax increases for middle and high-income earners and a spike in import duties on luxury products in a bid to raise 183 billion rupees ($1.48 billion) in additional revenue.