KARACHI: Expo 2020 Dubai has enabled Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province to attract an estimated $10 billion investment in key sectors, including energy and tourism, a top KP investment official said on Sunday.
The expo, which began in October 2021, is offering lucrative opportunities to countries to showcase their projects to attract foreign investment. Around 92 countries, including Pakistan, are participating in the mega exhibition dubbed as the “event of the century” to display their economic and cultural potential.
Pakistan’s pavilion at the expo has been highlighting the presence of investment opportunities, tourism potential and cultural magnificence of the country. In January, its highlight is the north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Provincial government officials say they are “very happy” with the outcome of the event so far.
“The quantum of investment is around $8-$10 billion and we are very happy with the response we have got from the investors,” Hassan Daud Butt, chief executive officer of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade (KP-BOIT) told Arab News in an exclusive interview from Dubai.
“We are signing a few more agreements tomorrow (Monday, January 24) for investment in the IT sector”, Butt disclosed. “The Expo 2020 in Dubai has given Pakistan and its provinces a great opportunity to showcase their culture, environment, initiative and [enabled them to] pitch investment projects.”
The KP-BOIT chief said the province was well prepared for the exhibition to grab opportunities by showcasing projects.
“We have crafted our entire month’s program, starting from the cottage industry and moving on to special economic zones, mines and minerals, agriculture, and the IT sector,” Butt said.
“Then we had the main investment conference. We were able to sign 42 MoUs (Memorandums of Understanding) in various categories.”
Officials say investors have shown great interest in energy, tourism, integrated tourism zones (ITZs), a water sports theme park in Swabi, industrial, power, infrastructure, food processing, livestock and other sectors.
Enertech-Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP), Private Office of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook-Al-Maktoum, Samara Group, VR Group, Sigma Group, Malik Foams and Nobel Future Land were among the prominent groups that signed MoUs with the provincial government.
“I and the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are thankful to the government of Pakistan for providing this opportunity and also thankful to the government and leadership of UAE for letting us come here and showcase [our potential] in a friendly and knowledge-seeking environment”, the KP-BOIT chief said.
Under the agreements signed at Expo 2020, hotels, restaurants and integrated tourism zones will be set up that will help project KP as “the land of growing opportunities.”
“I believe these projects will not only build and contribute to the investment climate but will also create the narrative that KP is the land of growing opportunities and is a potential place to invest for people living in Dubai and elsewhere,” Butt noted.
Pakistani officials hope that by the end of the exhibition in March 2022, the South Asian country would be able to generate huge foreign direct investment (FDI).
“I see huge opportunities by the end of the expo, because Pakistan, through its pavilion, through its investment projects, through international [investors] with the local community and investors will be able to generate huge FDI not at the federal level but at the provincial level in Punjab, KP, Sindh and Balochistan,” Butt said.
Last month, the Sindh government had also signed six agreements with various investors for multiple projects in different fields and areas at the Sindh Investment Conference, in the presence of UAE’s minister for tolerance and coexistence, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the Chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
Apart from Sindh, Punjab, KP, Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan governments have also come up with detailed plans to market their potential for investment in various sectors through Expo 2020.
Special offers are being made to attract investment through special economic and export processing zones, which are being developed along the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa attracts around $10bln at Expo Dubai — investment chief
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Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa attracts around $10bln at Expo Dubai — investment chief
- The KP provincial government has been able to sign 42 investment agreements in various sectors, says Hassan Daud Butt
- Official thanks the UAE leadership for letting them showcase their potential in a friendly, knowledge-seeking environment
PCB meets to discuss national team captaincy amid reports of Babar Azam comeback
- Meeting takes place amid widespread speculation Babar could take over as Pakistan captain for upcoming T20 series against New Zealand
- Babar stepped down as all-format captain last November following the team’s failure to reach ICC Men’s World Cup semifinals with five defeats
KARACHI: The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) met the body’s selection committee and other key officials to discuss the national team’s captaincy, the PCB said on Friday, amid reports former all-format captain Babar Azam’s name was under consideration for the position.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi chaired the meeting at the PCB headquarters in the eastern city of Lahore, according to the cricket board.
PCB Chief Operating Officer Salman Naseer, Selection Committee members Muhammad Yusuf, Wahab Riaz, Abdul Razzaq and Bilal Afzal, and PCB International Cricket Director Usman Wahla attended the conference.
“The members of the selection committee made recommendations to Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi about the captain of the national cricket team,” the PCB said in a statement.
“Coaches were also consulted at the meeting.”
Local media has widely speculated this week that Babar could make a comeback as Pakistan captain in the upcoming five-match T20 series against New Zealand.
The series is scheduled to be played in Rawalpindi on April 18, 20 and 21 and in Lahore on April 25 and 27.
The PCB, under former chief Zaka Ashraf, had appointed Shaheen Shah Afridi as Pakistan captain for the limited-over format after the national team’s poor show at the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India. Shan Masood was given the Test captaincy at the time.
In November last year, Babar announced he was stepping down as all-format captain following the team’s failure to reach the World Cup semifinals with five defeats — including a seven-wicket mauling by India in front of more than 100,000 fans — and four wins. The team also lost to Afghanistan for the first time.
Babar was particularly under fire for the poor show of a team that was ranked as the world’s top ODI side before the tournament.
This was the fifth time in the last six World Cups that Pakistan failed to reach the semifinals.
Babar was appointed T20I and ODI captain in 2019 before eventually captaining the Test side since 2020.
Pakistan briefs Chinese investigation team on security measures after deadly suicide bombing
- Five Chinese nationals were killed on Tuesday in northwestern Pakistan when a suicide bomber targeted their vehicle
- Pakistan has since then enhanced security for Chinese personnel in the country, vowed to punish culprits of the attack
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday briefed a Chinese investigation team on a suicide attack in Pakistan’s Shangla, which killed five Chinese nationals this week, promising to bring to justice the perpetrators of the deadly bombing.
Five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed on Tuesday in the northwestern Pakistani district of Shangla, when a bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into their vehicle.
The victims were en route to a hydropower project when the attack occurred in an area vital to the Chine-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), part of Beijing Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Naqvi visited the Chinese embassy in Islamabad to brief the special investigation team that arrived from China, according to the Pakistani interior ministry.
“In the meeting, measures for the protection of Chinese citizens and overall security were discussed,” Naqvi’s ministry said in a statement. “The real culprits of the Shangla attack will be brought to justice,” the statement quoted the minister as saying.
Naqvi also met the Chinese ambassador and shared with him updates regarding the attack, according to the statement.
Tuesday’s attack came less than a week after Pakistani security forces killed eight Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) separatists, who opened fire on a convoy carrying Chinese citizens outside the Chinese-funded Gwadar port in the volatile southwestern Balochistan province.
Hundreds of Chinese engineers and technicians have been working on projects, primarily in Pakistan’s northwest and southwest, under CPEC — a network of roads, railways, pipelines and ports in Pakistan that will connect China to the Arabian Sea and help Islamabad expand and modernize its economy.
Beijing has pledged to invest over $65 billion in energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan as part of the corridor.
The interior minister’s meeting with the Chinese team came a day after Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said his government believed Islamabad would hold accountable the perpetrators of the deadly attack.
“The Pakistani side is working intensively to investigate and handle the aftermath and has taken concrete steps to enhance security for Chinese personnel, projects and institutions,” Lin told reporters during a press briefing.
“We believe Pakistan will get to the bottom of the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice as soon as possible.”
In a first, foreign minister replaces finance chief in Pakistan’s largest decision-making body
- The CCI decides matters like distribution of natural resources upon which there is disagreement between center, provinces
- Members of the council include four provincial chief ministers as well as foreign, defense and frontier regions ministers
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government this week constituted the Council of Common Interests (CCI), with the foreign minister replacing the finance chief in the decision-making body.
The CCI is a constitutional body and its members are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister. The council resolves power-sharing and other disputes between the federation and the provinces.
Members of the council include four provincial chief ministers, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, and State and Frontier Regions Minister Ameer Muqam, according to a government notification.
“In exercise of the powers conferred under Article 153 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the president, on the advice of the prime minister, has constituted the Council of Common Interests, with effect from 21st March,” read the notification dated March 25.
“This supersedes Secretariat of CCI’s notification of even number, dated 9th January.”
The CCI is the largest decision-making body in the country that decides matters like the distribution of natural resources, upon which there is a disagreement between the center and provinces.
The top forum is headed by the prime minister.
Pakistan official says China halts work on two projects after deadly attack
- The companies have demanded Pakistan authorities come up with new security plans before reopening the sites
- The security of Chinese workers, who are frequently targeted by militants, is a major concern to both countries
PESHAWAR: Chinese contractors have halted construction on two major dam projects in Pakistan after a suicide bomber killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver this week, a provincial official told AFP on Friday.
The companies have demanded that Pakistan authorities come up with new security plans before reopening the sites where around 1,250 Chinese nationals are working, the official said.
The security of Chinese workers is a major concern to both countries, with nationals frequently targeted by militants hostile to outside influence.
The workers were targeted on Tuesday by a suicide bomber who rammed into their vehicle on a mountainous road near one of the dam sites.
He detonated his explosives on impact, plunging their vehicle into a deep ravine.
A senior official from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa interior department told AFP on condition of anonymity that since Wednesday, China Gezhouba Group Company has halted work on the Dasu dam in the province and Power China has stopped work on Diamer Bhasha dam, which straddles two provinces.
“They have demanded new security plans from the government,” he said.
“Around 750 Chinese engineers are engaged in the Dasu Dam project, while 500 are working on the Diamer Bhasha Dam,” he added.
He said the movement of Chinese engineers has been restricted to the compounds where they live, close to the sites.
China has not commented, but this week repeatedly urged Pakistan to ensure the safety of its nationals.
Beijing is Islamabad’s closest regional ally, readily providing financial assistance to bail out its often-struggling neighbor.
China has inked more than two trillion dollars in contracts around the world under its Belt and Road investment scheme, with billions pouring into infrastructure projects in Pakistan.
But Pakistanis have long complained that they are not getting a fair share of jobs or wealth created by the projects.
Tuesday’s attack sparked a flurry of diplomatic activity at the Chinese embassy in Islamabad, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the foreign and interior ministers offering condolences in quick succession.
China’s foreign ministry declared the countries “iron-clad friends” but asked Pakistan to “take effective measures to ensure the safety and security of Chinese nationals, projects, and institutions.”
Tuesday’s attack came just days after militants attempted to storm offices of the Gwadar deepwater port in the southwest, considered a cornerstone of Chinese investment in Pakistan.
In 2019, gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Balochistan province overlooking the flagship Chinese-backed deepwater seaport in Gwadar that gives strategic access to the Arabian Sea — killing at least eight people.
In June 2020, Baloch insurgents targeted the Pakistan Stock Exchange, which is partly owned by Chinese companies, in the commercial capital of Karachi.
Pakistan reviewing proposal for resumption of trade with India — Foreign Office
- Pakistan suspended trade with India after New Delhi’s revocation of special autonomy of Indian-administered Kashmir in 2019
- The rift has since impacted businesses on both sides who previously traded in textiles, agricultural products and medical supplies
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Thursday it was reviewing a proposal from the business community to resume trade with India.
Pakistan downgraded its diplomatic relations and suspended bilateral trade with India after New Delhi’s revocation of the special constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019.
The geopolitical rift between the two countries has since impacted businesses on both sides who previously benefited from cross-border trade in textiles, agricultural products and medical supplies.
Speaking at a weekly press briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson referred to a statement by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and said the business community had expressed in review of trade with India.
“Examination of such proposals is a regular exercise in the Government of Pakistan, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where we continue to consider all such requests and assess our policy,” she said.
Baloch, however, clarified that there was no change in Pakistan’s position at present.
The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir has been a flashpoint between Pakistan and India since their independence from the British rule in 1947.
Both countries rule parts of the Himalayan territory, but claim it in full and have fought three wars over the disputed region.