KARACHI: Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan said on Monday some “major agreements” will be finalized ahead of the arrival of a “higher” delegation from Saudi Arabia, after various Saudi and Pakistani firms developed an understanding during a recent visit by Saudi delegates to Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar last week said a much-awaited visit of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Islamabad was “on the cards” and could materialize any time during May. But neither of the two sides confirmed any dates.

His statement followed a series of high-level engagements between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, including the visits of Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif to the Kingdom and a visit of Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan to Islamabad.

This month, a high-level Saudi business delegation, led by the Kingdom’s Assistant Minister of Investment Ibrahim Al-Mubarak, visited Pakistan to explore investment opportunities in various sectors, including mineral, energy, agriculture and petroleum.

“More than 100 Pakistani companies participated in the meetings with Saudi counterparts and even today, the process of meetings continues while the outcome of G2G (government-to-government) meetings has been seen in a very positive way in different sectors,” Khan said at a press conference in Karachi.

“A higher delegation from Saudi Arabia will definitely come to Pakistan, so before that, we should make a final form of these things (agreements), so that in the final form of B2B (business-to-business), some major agreements are signed.”

Khan did not specify a date for the arrival of the Saudi delegation. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have lately been working to increase bilateral trade and investment deals, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last month reaffirming the Kingdom’s commitment to expedite an investment package of $5 billion.

During the visit of the Saudi assistant investment minister this month, a number of agreements were signed and Pakistani companies have been asked to submit details of these agreements, according to the commerce minister.

The government has made various sectors available for facilitation, including agriculture, information technology (IT), energy and ports, and even, construction companies in Saudi Arabia have also shown interest in these sectors.

Along with that, Khan informed, progress was also being made on a free trade agreement with the Gulf countries.

He said a memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been received from Alibaba Group, a Chinese multinational company specializing in e-commerce, retail, Internet and technology, for the improvement of connectivity with the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) to penetrate rural and urban areas of Pakistan.

“They have put their stake in that MoU and if it gets vetted and clarity comes, then the senior-most [official] in Alibaba will come to Pakistan and sign it, which will be a big thing,” the minister said.

Asked about the ongoing wheat crisis, Khan said no one could be held responsible prior to the completion of a probe.

Farmers in Pakistan’s Punjab province, which produces most of the wheat crop, are demanding the government stop wheat imports that have flooded the market at a time when they expect bumper crop. They say the import of wheat in the second half of 2023 and the first three months of this year has resulted in excess amounts of the commodity in the country, leading to reduced prices.

The South Asian country is trying to ascertain the factor that led to the import of wheat during the tenure of the interim government of caretaker prime minister, Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, despite expectations of a bumper crop.

“It is premature to say who is responsible or due to whose negligence the current situation has arisen,” Khan said.

Zubair Motiwala, the TDAP chief executive, said the country’s food and agriculture exports had witnessed a substantial increase, which would cross $7 billion from $3.5 billion.

The major exports included rice, maize and sesame seeds, while there was a negative trend in the export of textiles, he said.

For the first time in the country, Motiwala shared, a policy was being introduced under which action could be taken against exporters for exporting substandard goods and companies could also be blacklisted.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) will be sending qualified and trained nurses to Saudi Arabia, Pakistani state media reported on Monday, citing an official of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis.

The Kingdom required nursing staff in various fields, including cardiac care, emergency, medical care, obstetrics, pediatrics, critical care, hemodialysis, neonatal care, oncology, surgical care, and intensive care, the state-run APP news agency reported.

“Saudi Arabia required nurses staff on urgent basis and in this regard OEC has advertised the qualifications and experience of required nurses staff for abroad,” the report read.

“Only qualified females would be entertained for final selection who have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing BScN (4-years) or (Post RN), minimum two years of experience in the relevant field, only females, not more than 45.”

The applicants will be entitled to annual air ticket, mid-year benefits such as 10 calendar days post leave and mid-year round trip air ticket, and end-of-service benefits (Saudi service award) i.e. remuneration computed equivalent to the years of service.

Interested applicants could apply via the OEC’s website https://oec.gov.pk/, UAN 0311-0011-632 or email at [email protected].

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as the top destination for remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.