Reaffirms commitment to strengthening bilateral economic ties on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington DC
Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Aurangzeb during an interview with VOA. SCREEN CAPTURE
Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to fostering deeper economic partnership with Saudi Arabia, briefing his Saudi counterpart on the ongoing privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and key airports.
Aurangzeb met Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Aljadaan on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington DC. The finance minister sought Saudi support for infrastructure development projects as both sides reviewed growing trade and investment relations.
He reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to carry out economic reforms under the IMF program to ensure long-term macroeconomic stability.
The IMF has announced a staff-level agreement for the release of the next tranches of loans worth $1.2 billion after Islamabad, for now, accepted the old pre-flood budget targets and released the governance report ahead of the board meeting.
Read: KE dispute resolved paving way for Saudi takeover
The two ministers agreed that institutions like the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) could play a vital role in mobilizing and de-risking private sector investments in Pakistan.
Aurangzeb briefed his Saudi counterpart on the ongoing privatization process of PIA and key airports, underlining Islamabad’s determination to attract strategic investments through transparency and efficiency.
During a meeting with the CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation in Washington DC, the Finance Minister highlighted significant investment opportunities in Pakistan’s oil and gas, mines and minerals, agriculture, information technology and pharmaceutical sectors.
Read more: Sialkot will get a new industrial estate
Aurangzeb underlined consensus at the leadership level to improve trade and investment ties. He welcomed DFC’s interest in facilitating private sector-led financing for projects in Pakistan.
cementing ties
In a major boost to investment relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, Prince Mansour Bin Mohammed Al Saud last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chishti for the acquisition of a majority stake in KES Power Ltd, the parent company that owns 66.4% of K-Electric.
In an interview with Express News In New York, Defense Minister Khwaja Asif said the decades-long partnership between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia has now been formalized and expanded to include defense and commercial investments.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif recently granted in-principle approval for setting up a new industrial estate in Sialkot. Chairing a meeting to review issues related to industrial estates across the province, he accepted a proposal to develop the area on 400 acres of land near the Sialkot international airport.
It also agreed to offer four industrial estates to foreign investors, in addition to those in Bhalwal, Vehari and Bahawalpur that are being considered for Saudi investment. In a major move, it decided to allocate the Chunian industrial estate to the fisheries department.
