Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his meeting with the Saudi crown prince remained constructive and he had assured him of his country’s complete support following which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced to add another $600 million to its recently announced $2.2 billion investment in Pakistan what the Saudi Investment Minister called “only the beginning of something very special.”

The announcement was made at a joint press stakeout by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Investment Minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Falih in Riyadh following their “very productive” meeting encompassing the bilateral cooperation in multiple sectors including trade, finance, agriculture, technology and skilled manpower.

The prime minister expressed the hope that the recently signed programme with the IMF would be the last one and that implementation on the agreements signed with Saudi Arabia had begun.    

Saudi minister said that there existed strong brotherly relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, and that work was in progress on five, out of the agreements, inked between the two countries.

Accompanied by Advisor at the Royal Court Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri, Saudi Minister Al Falih told the media that during his recent visit to Pakistan, both sides had signed 27 MoUs for investment worth $2.2 billion in Pakistan. He announced that following Prime Minister Sehbaz’s meeting with Crown Prince and their discussion, the number of MoUs has been increased from 27 to 34 to add $600 million in investment taking the investment volume to $2.8 billion.

PM Shehbaz said the meetings with the Crown Prince and Al Falih were reassuring and told the media that some of the projects agreed upon during the recent Saudi delegation’s visit were under implementation. He said both sides would work on the timelines of the project and expressed the hope that under the leadership of Saudi crown prince, both sides would strengthen bilateral relations not only for the benefit of the people of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia but the entire Muslim Ummah.

“When I come back, I will have good news for the people of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. With your valuable support, we will be able to carve our way forward and soon be able to make big announcements,” the prime minister remarked.

Minister Al-Falih said that as a follow-up of their Pakistan visit, both sides had “extensive” working-level meeting to elevate the bilateral relations to yet higher horizons in the fields of economy, finance, trade and people-to-people contacts.

He said that some of the MoUs had resulted in exports from Pakistan in agriculture and other fields. He also expressed the Saudi government’s willingness to import Pakistan’s skilled workforce as he said the world was looking towards Saudi Arabia becoming a key driver in digital technology and artificial intelligence.

Prime Minister Shehbaz also expressed gratitude to the Saudi leadership for support to Pakistan which was critical to achieving the IMF program.

He said with the commitment and collective efforts by the government and the support from the brotherly countries, Pakistan would march towards economic progress.

He also thanked 2.5 million Pakistani expatriates for contributing to Saudi development and assured that Pakistan would make efforts to prepare a skilled workforce to meet Saudi requirements to contribute in a big way to the Kingdom’s development programme.