27 agreements will be signed during Pakistan visit, says Saudi minister

Saudi Minister for Investment Sheikh Khalid Bin Abdul Aziz Al Faleh has declared that 27 agreements will be signed in different sectors as Pakistani ministers listed the gains the national economy made recently and the government’s policies aimed at strengthening the private sector, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The Saudi minister made the announcement while addressing the Pakistan-Saudi Business Forum held in Islamabad on Thursday, saying they were committed to invest in Pakistan while describing his meeting earlier in the day with Chief of the Army Staff General Asim Munir as “very meaningful”.

The Saudi minister maintained that there were no limits to the possibilities of economic cooperation between the two brother countries.

Al Faleh said: “I think there are essentially no limits to what Saudi Arabia and Pakistan can do in the economic sphere, just like there are no limits to our friendship to our bonds, to our historic relations.”

He confirmed that the two countries were presiding over 27 “organic agreements” and MoUs worth around $2 billion, which would be signed throughout the day.

Referring to his meeting earlier today with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir, the Saudi minister said the army chief “spoke from the heart as well as from the mind, as well as expressing numbers that are very, very compelling with the value proposition to the Saudi private sector for partnering with Pakistan”.

He said the army chief had expressed his commitment that all matters of “red-tape would be replaced with a red-carpet treatment”, adding that this was through the “special one-stop shop” under the SIFC.

Faleh also expressed his satisfaction regarding trade between the two countries, noting that it had increased by 80 percent i.e. from $3 billion in 2019 to $5.4 billion.

Recalling an investment package agreed upon in April during PM Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia, the Saudi minister said his country was “committed to and extremely encouraged” by the Saudi crown prince’s announcement “committing the front end of Saudi investment to Pakistan which is $5 billion”.

“I think these numbers, in my opinion, are only the tip of the iceberg,” he emphasised.

Earlier, addressing the Business Forum, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb expressed optimism about Pakistan’s prospects, stating the country was at a good place on economic front and open to business.

Aurangzeb highlighted government policies aimed at strengthening the private sector to lead the country’s business and economy. He emphasized that the government’s role was not to do business, but to facilitate the private sector. He welcomed Saudi Arabian delegates to promote trade and investment through a Business-to-Business (B2B) model.

Aurangzeb cited significant progress in macroeconomic stability over the past 12-14 months. Pakistan achieved a primary surplus, reduced its current account deficit to less than $1 billion, stabilized its currency, and increased foreign exchange reserves to cover two months of imports.

The minister noted that these gains have been consolidated in the current fiscal year, with strong remittances, export growth, and a reduction in inflation from 38% to 6.9%. The decrease in policy rate has also benefited businesses.
Pakistan’s credit rating has been upgraded however added more was to be done to get the rate at B- at least. He said, institutional flows were coming back to country on both the debt and equity sides.

The Islamabad Stock Exchange reached a record high, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) board approved an extended program for the country. He said, the IMF programme has two implications including bringing permanence in macroeconomic stability and secondly to execute structural reforms. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to structural reforms, promoting sustainable growth and tax reform.

Business Forum

The Pakistan-Saudi Business Forum held in Islamabad on Thursday with a high-level Saudi delegation led by Kingdom’s Investment Minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih was in attendance as Islamabad hopes $2 billion in investment proposals will be finalized during the dignitary’s three-day visit.

The visit by Al-Falih, whose visit comes ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit next week, comes as Pakistan seeks closer cooperation in trade, defence, energy and other sectors with friendly countries and regional allies, with the aim to attract foreign investment and shore up its $350 billion economy, beset by a prolonged economic crisis that has drained foreign exchange reserves and weakened the national currency.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in particular have been working closely in recent months to increase bilateral trade and investment, with Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman reaffirming the Kingdom’s commitment earlier this year to expedite a $5 billion investment package for the South Asian country.
The Business Forum began in Islamabad with speeches from Pakistani ministers.

The PMO said in a statement after the Saudi delegation’s arrival: “The Saudi minister will have a busy schedule in Pakistan of meetings with representatives of private companies and top government officials while bilateral trade and investment between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, mutual agreements and important Memorandums of Understanding will also be signed.”

Pakistan to materialise G20 dream: Ishaq Dar

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar citing the government’s efforts for economic stability and existing huge potential for investment, said that the country’s economy had been put on the road to sustainable growth to achieve the dream of joining the G20 club as soon as possible.

The deputy prime minister, in his keynote address at the Pakistan-Saudi Business Forum, recalled that in 2017, the country had achieved the status of top 24th economy with 4% inflation, below 2% food inflation, 6% GDP, and highest foreign reserves, pursuing its journey to join the G20 which was derailed due to COVID pandemic and certain internal and external factors.

The Pakistan-Saudi Business Forum was held as a high-level Saudi delegation led by Minister for Investment Engineer Khalid Bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih is on a three-day visit to Pakistan comprising representatives from a wide spectrum of government agencies and private sector entities. The visit is aimed at exploring investment opportunities and signing Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) across a variety of sectors.

Ishaq Dra said that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoyed deep-rooted and time-tested relations, marked by shared history, faith and values.

He thanked the Saudi leadership for unwavering support to Pakistan on multiple occasions, particularly during the recent economic challenges and reiterated that Pakistan was committed to the sovereignty and integrity of the Kingdom and stood shoulder to shoulder with it through thick and thin.

He said that 2.5 million Pakistani diaspora in the Kingdom was contributing to the Saudi development and Pakistan’s foreign remittances.

Calling it a “pivotal moment” in the history of bilateral ties, the deputy prime minister said the delegation’s visit manifested the shared vision and enduring partnership between the two countries.

He apprised the gathering that the incumbent government was making untiring efforts to bring in economic stability, through reforms, widening the tax base, enhancing productivity and competition, and promoting private sector investment besides carrying out the privatization of state-owned enterprises. Moreover, the government was also coming up with an IMF-backed home-grown economy program to regain macroeconomic stability.

He said the difficult and unpopular decisions made by the government were yielding positive results as economic indicators were in the right direction showing reduced inflation, narrowing current account deficit and improved rating making Pakistan more attractive for foreign investment, and building a stronger, more stable economy for the future.

The deputy prime minister underscored Pakistan’s potential in sectors such as mining, information technology, agriculture, and renewable energy, inviting Saudi investors to participate in these lucrative opportunities.

He expressed confidence that the engagements during this visit would lead to tangible outcomes, further strengthening the economic partnership between the two countries.

Musadik for Pak-Saudi development partnership

Federal Minister for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik said Pakistan aims to transform its longstanding historical and cultural ties with Saudi Arabia into a partnership focused on growth and development.

Addressing the Business Forum, he emphasized the importance of strengthening bilateral relations and Pakistan’s desire to foster closer cooperation with Saudi Arabia to promote mutual economic and developmental progress.

“Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have deep historical ties. Saudi Arabia has been a steadfast ally, and both countries continue to enjoy strong economic and strategic relations,” he added.

He expressed Pakistan’s interest in further developing cooperation in key areas such as food security, economic growth, and energy security.

He said that both nations are prepared to join hands and move forward to present the ongoing global industrial revolution.

He further mentioned that Pakistan seeks to boost exports, diversify its economy, increase remittances, create employment, and enhance productivity.

He said that Pakistan is focusing on improving ease of doing business, shifting from “red tape to red carpet,” and working on reducing poverty through a higher tax-to-GDP ratio.

Referring to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, Dr Musadik Malik highlighted the Kingdom’s goals of achieving growth, diversification, indigenization, and innovation-driven, energy-intensive development.

He also spoke about Pakistan’s robust strategic and implementation framework, the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), which aims to ensure collective success for both countries. “The synergies between our visions can be realized by leveraging asset-building infrastructure, ensuring food security, and sharing cultures,” he said.

He said that Pakistan requires significant development in roads, railways, and infrastructure, areas where Saudi Arabia can offer substantial support.

Reforms to encourage more investments: Aleem

Federal Minister for Investment, Privatization and Communications Abdul Aleem Khan said the institutional and policy reforms introduced by the incumbent government would further encourage more Saudi investors to invest in Pakistan.

Addressing the Business Forum, he said “I am confident that with institutional and policy reforms, we have introduced, more Saudi investors will be encouraged to invest in Pakistan.”

Aleem Khan said the business forum provides unique opportunity to build deeper commercial ties between the two brotherly countries and invited Saudi Businessmen to explore wide rage investment opportunities Pakistan has to offer. He said the government was fully committed to support and facilitate foreign investors in every sector, adding Pakistan and Saudi Arabia would further strengthen cooperation to promote mutual growth and prosperity.

The minister appreciated, the ongoing sessions of the forum, exchanges of visits and Saudi Arabia’s commitment towards strengthening economic engagements within Pakistan. He also thanked the leadership of Saudi Arabia for extending valuable support and assistance to Pakistan.

The minister expressed the hope that government and private sector delegates would have the opportunity to take forward some of these discussions held during this visit and congratulated teams of both sides for B2B Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) and agreements they would be signing during this forum.

Meanwhile, Head of International Finance Cooperation (IFC) Saudi Arabia, Waleed Al Murshad and Head IFC Pakistan and Afghanistan, Zeeshan Sheikh gave detailed presentation on IFC, the global multilateral financial institution focused on entirely investment in private sector. On average it invests $55 billion across developing countries and had invested $2 billion in Pakistan last year.

Exim bank Saudi Arabia representative, Thamer A. Alshethri also gave presentation on the operations of the bank, which provides credit solutions to help private sector.

Jam Kamal says Pakistan desires to boost investment, traded with Saudi Arabia

Addressing the Business Forum, Federal Minister for Commerce Jamal Kamal Khan said that Pakistani companies were well positioned to contribute to and benefit from Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, a transformative agenda, leveraging opportunities in construction, IT services, skilled labor, and agriculture.

The minister said Vision 2030 aims to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy, expanding into sectors such as tourism, renewable energy, technology, infrastructure, and more. He praised Saudi Arabia’s visionary leadership in fostering cooperation, particularly through Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious Vision 2030.

With strategic promotional efforts, targeted outreach, and improved market access, Pakistan can significantly expand its footprint in the Saudi market, he said.

Kamal said, the Ministry of Commerce plans to organize a single-country exhibition in Jeddah in February 2025, providing a platform for Pakistani businesses to engage with Saudi Arabia’s leading brands and importers.

Jam Kamal Khan welcomed the Saudi Minister for Investment Sheikh Khalid Bin Abdul Aziz Al Faleh and his delegation to Pakistan, highlighting the potential for enhanced trade and investment cooperation between the two nations.

He said Pakistan’s primary exports to Saudi Arabia include cereals, rice, meat, textiles, footwear, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, and fish products. With growing demand in the Saudi market for quality food products, there is substantial potential to increase exports.

The Ministry of Commerce has developed a comprehensive business plan to boost bilateral trade, outlining trade-specific targets to be monitored quarterly, biannually, and annually.

Key sectors identified for targeted marketing and promotion efforts include food and agriculture, textiles, leather goods, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, IT services, and renewable energy solutions.

Currently, food and textiles dominate Pakistan’s exports to Saudi Arabia, accounting for over 85% of total exports. However, other sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, construction materials, surgical instruments, sports, and engineering, offer enormous growth opportunities.

Additionally, Khan invited Saudi delegates to attend the upcoming Texpo on textiles in Karachi and the auto market industry Expo in Lahore during the current month (October).

As Pakistan and Saudi Arabia continue to collaborate, the potential for enhanced trade, investment, and economic cooperation is poised to unlock new opportunities for both nations, he added.