The Saudis are here; what does this mean for Pakistan’s economy?

Saudi Arabia’s investment minister, Sheikh Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Faleh, is making an official visit to Pakistan. He announced that the Kingdom would invest two billion dollars in the country while mentioning that Pakistan, for him, is like “family, not friends.”

Speaking at the Pak-Saudi Business Conference, the minister said that relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are beyond agreements, with relations that have been established for 1400 years.

The Minister also stressed that 25 lac Pakistanis living in Saudi Arabia are supporting the Kingdom’s economy. Quoting Army Chief Asim Muneer, the Saudi Minister said that he had been assured that “red tape has been replaced by red carpet.”

He also informed that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will establish a special one-window system to streamline all the 27 agreements that have been signed and sought to increase trade to about two billion dollars.

Ishaq Dar’s statement

“Pakistan will soon emerge as the 24th strongest economy in the world,” Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said in his address.

He pledged to create a favourable environment for foreign investment in the country.

Saudi Minister’s praise for Musadik Malik

Federal Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik told the media that if Pakistan had only one ally, it would be Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Saudi Minister Al-Faleh praised him for teaching him to build industrial clusters in his own country.

“Musadik mentioned that he was a consultant and a subject matter expert. He mentored and taught me. He was very humble when he called me his boss,” he said as he addressed the audience at the Pak-Saudi Business Forum on Thursday.

Additionally, he remarked, “We took his advice, and we are very proud that our industrial sector is booming. It is one of the fastest growing and most competitive certainly in the region.”

Malik said that there is a big market for petroleum products in Pakistan. He told Wasim Abbas of We News that more than 50 companies and more than 130 delegations from Saudi Arabia have come to Pakistan for investment purposes. Agreements of two billion dollars have been signed on the arrival of the Saudi delegation to Pakistan.

Investment in the education sector

In a report by Independent Urdu, it has been revealed that Saudi Arabia is investing 14 million dollars in the education and health sector of Pakistan. This will include the establishment of five thousand schools and one thousand homes for flood victims of 2022.

Al Faleh announced to the business forum that Saudi Arabia intends to invest in Pakistan’s infrastructure and mining sectors, and his delegation will sign 25 agreements across various fields, including an investment of one billion dollars in the Reko Diq project.