KARACHI: Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy Khalid A Al-Falih on Saturday visited the port city of Gwadar to witness development work and the area allocated for a multibillion oil refinery.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are in talks over an agreement to install the Saudi Aramco Oil Refinery in Balochistan’s Gwadar district.
Last year, the Saudis also offered Pakistan a $6-billion rescue package to help shore up the economy.
The Saudi delegation was received by Pakistan petroleum minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan, port and shippings minister Syed Ali Haider Zaidi and Baluchistan information minister Zahoor Buledi.
“Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are the two sound foundations of peace and stability”, Khalid A Al-Falih, said while speaking to media in Gwadar.
Al Falih, who is also chairman of the Board of Saudi Aramco, said bilateral relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are very strong and Saudia Arabai would "play its role for the development and prosperity of Pakistan."
“The Saudi delegation led by Al Falih has come to see the area allocated for the oil refinery in Gwadar. Soon a state of the art oil refinery would be set up in Gwadar”, Ghulam Sarwar said, according to a statement issued by the ministry of petroleum.
The petroleum minister said he hoped that a memorandum of understanding about the oil refinery would be signed between the two governments next month: “This would be the biggest investment of Saudi Arabia in Pakistan."
The government of Pakistan has already given approval for the MoU.
The visiting Saudi delegation was briefed by the chairman of Gwadar Development Authority, Dostain Jamaldini, about the development of the country’s deep sea port being constructed with the help of China.
Earlier, Pakistan’s Finance minister had said that Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy and the Chairman of the Board of Saudi Aramco, had arrived in Pakistan to meet with officials and new investments would be announced as the "next step."
Umar was speaking at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and called the Saudi minister the "world’s most powerful minister of energy."
“In the next step, the announcement of investment will be made,” Umar said. “The bilateral support our country has received from friendly countries in last five months has never happened in our history."
Saudi Aramco will construct the petrochemical complex which will house the multibillion oil refinery.
“Overall directions of agreement (MoU) have been agreed upon and the agreement will be signed at the appropriate time,” Haroon Sharif, Chairman of Pakistan Board of Investment, had recently told Arab News.
“I am expecting around $15 billion investment from Saudi Arabia in the next three years. The inflow of investments for the oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Pakistan is estimated to be between $6 billion to $10 billion,” Sharif said.
Pakistan is hoping to attract more than $40 billion foreign direct investment in the next five years, he said.
“We estimate that roughly around $40 billion investment will be made by these three countries (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and China) during the next three to five years,” Sharif added.
Saudi energy minister visits Pakistan’s Gwadar oil refinery site
Saudi energy minister visits Pakistan’s Gwadar oil refinery site
- Pakistan, Saudi Arabia in talks over oil refinery in Balochistan’s Gwadar district
- MoU to be signed next month
Saudi Cabinet reviews cooperation and agreements with other nations
- Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chairs meeting and briefs ministers on his recent meeting with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi
- Cooperative efforts includes projects focusing on development and education, political consultations, environmental protection, health, investment and air transport
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Council of Ministers reviewed a number of domestic and international matters during a session in Jeddah on Tuesday chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The crown prince briefed the Cabinet on his recent meeting with the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, which included discussions about regional security and stability, the latest developments in the Middle East, and other topics of importance to the Arab and Islamic world, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
He also shared with ministers the contents of a letter he received from the president of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The council discussed progress in cooperative efforts involving Saudi Arabia and other countries including Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Estonia, Cuba and Kiribati, and approved a number of memorandums of understanding.
The cooperation includes projects focusing on development and education, political consultations, environmental protection, health, investment and air-transport services, the press agency said. Ministers also approved an agreement between the Saudi General Authority for Awqaf and its Omani counterpart relating to endowments.
They reviewed national initiatives, including one for the promotion of charitable work, and the enhancement of humanitarian and developmental efforts across the country.
A merger of the National Competitiveness Center with the Saudi Center for Economic Business to create a combined Saudi Competitiveness and Business Center was authorized.
