Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are seeking to bolster economic cooperation, boost the trade exchange between them and support investors to expand their work in the two countries.
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar chaired in Islamabad on Tuesday a meeting of the Saudi-Pakistani Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).
A high-level Saudi delegation attended the meeting. It included Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture Abdulrahman Al-Fadley, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Al-Khorayef, Advisor to the Royal Court Mohammad Al-Tuwaijri, Assistant Minister of Investment Ibrahim Al-Mubarak, as well as a number of senior officials from the ministries of foreign affairs and energy, Public Investment Fund, and the Saudi Fund for Development.
Prince Faisal praised the deep-rooted Saudi-Pakistani relations, stressing that the Saudi delegation’s visit complements the meeting held by Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in Makkah.
For his part, Dar praised the deep bonds and strategic interests that bind Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. He highlighted the importance of bolstering the strategic and economic partnership and the vital role played by Saudi investments in boosting this bond.
He highlighted the SIFC platform through which Islamabad is seeking to simplify investment operations and create a prosperous investment environment in Pakistan.
He underlined the abundant opportunities for investment in Pakistan in the fields of agriculture, Information Technology, and mining, calling on Saudi investors to forge partnerships that are beneficial to both parties.
Officials from the SIFC delivered comprehensive presentations about the investment opportunities in the main sectors of the Pakistani economy.
For their part, Saudi officials stressed the importance of improving the investment environment in Pakistan, praising the role of the SIFC in amicably settling investment issues.
The two parties set a bilateral executive mechanism to coordinate affairs related to investments so that pledges can be transformed into tangible results.
Chairman of the Saudi-Pakistani Business Council Fahd al-Bash stressed to Asharq Al-Awsat the importance of the SIFC meeting, saying it was preparing a number of major investments in the Pakistani economy.
This reflects Saudi Arabia’s commitment to supporting the people of Pakistan and bolstering economic and trade relations between the countries, he remarked.
“We believe in the cooperation and partnership between the two countries and we aspire to boost these ties in various sectors through promising strategic investments and partnerships,” he added.
“We are optimistic about the future of the economic and trade relations and look forward to a new chapter in fruitful and sustainable cooperation,” he went on to say.
Prince Faisal is on an official visit to Pakistan where he met with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.
