Saudi Trade Delegation Heads to Pakistan to Ink Economic Agreements

Billboards with images of Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud (R), Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (L) are displayed at a road in Islamabad, Pakistan, 04 May 2024. (EPA)
Billboards with images of Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud (R), Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (L) are displayed at a road in Islamabad, Pakistan, 04 May 2024. (EPA)
TT

Saudi Trade Delegation Heads to Pakistan to Ink Economic Agreements

Billboards with images of Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud (R), Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (L) are displayed at a road in Islamabad, Pakistan, 04 May 2024. (EPA)
Billboards with images of Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud (R), Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (L) are displayed at a road in Islamabad, Pakistan, 04 May 2024. (EPA)

A high-ranking Saudi trade delegation arrived in Pakistan on Sunday to sign a number of bilateral economic and investment agreements.

The 50-member delegation is headed by the deputy minister of investment and includes representatives of 30 companies from various sectors.

The delegation is visiting at the directives of the Saudi government that is committed to speeding up a package of projects worth 50 billion dollars.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah visited Islamabad in mid-April at the head of a delegation during which he chaired a meeting of the Saudi-Pakistani joint investment council.

The meeting tackled the most significant opportunities for economic cooperation in various fields.

They also discussed increasing the trade exchange between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to meet mutual aspirations.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was in Riyadh last week where he attended the special meeting of the World Economic Forum that was held in the Saudi capital.

Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik said on Saturday that Sharif was keen on the private sector driving forward development in the country.

The Saudi investors will sit down for talks with Pakistani companies to discuss investment potential.

He added that bilateral cooperation will benefit small establishments, especially technology companies that have been set up by youths, whom he predicted will reap the lion’s share of investments from Saudi businessmen.



Oil Prices Held Down by Trump Tariff Uncertainty

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
TT

Oil Prices Held Down by Trump Tariff Uncertainty

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

Oil prices were little changed on Thursday, maintaining almost all of the previous session's losses on uncertainty over how US President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs and energy policies would affect global economic growth and energy demand.

Brent crude futures were up 18 cents at $79.18 a barrel by 1315 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) rose 14 cents to $75.58.

"Oil markets have given back some recent gains due to mixed drivers," said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at brokerage Phillip Nova.

"Key factors include expectations of increased US production under President Trump's pro-drilling policies and easing geopolitical stress in Gaza, lifting fears of further escalation in supply disruption from key producing regions."

The broader economic implications of US tariffs could further dampen global oil demand growth, she added, Reuters reported.

Trump has said he would add new tariffs to his sanctions threat against Russia if the country does not make a deal to end its war in Ukraine.

He also vowed to hit the European Union with tariffs and impose 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico. On China, Trump said his administration was discussing a 10% punitive duty because fentanyl is being sent from there to the United States.

On Monday he declared a national energy emergency intended to provide him with the authority to reduce environmental restrictions on energy infrastructure and projects and ease permitting for new transmission and pipeline infrastructure.

There will be "more potential downward choppy movement in the oil market in the near term due to the Trump administration's lack of clarity on trade tariffs policy and impending higher oil supplies from the US", OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said in an email.

On the US oil inventory front, crude stocks rose by 958,000 barrels in the week ended Jan. 17, according to sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday.

Gasoline inventories rose by 3.23 million barrels and distillate stocks climbed by 1.88 million barrels, they said.