ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif granted the Kuwait Investment Authority-backed Raqqami Islamic Digital Bank (RIDB) the commercial license to operate in Pakistan on Tuesday, stressing the need to convert cordial political ties between the two countries into a strong economic relationship. 

Pakistan’s finance adviser Khurram Schehzad announced last month that RIDB intends to launch operations in the South Asian country from February with a $100 million investment. 

The RIDB describes itself as Pakistan’s first fully Shariah-compliant digital bank. The retail bank offers online financing, savings and payment services to individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises, also focusing on financial inclusion for underserved segments.

Prime Minister Sharif participated in a ceremony to grant the license to RIDB in Islamabad. The event was attended by top RIDB officials including its Chairman Abdullah Al-Mutairi and Chief Executive Officer Umair Aijaz. 

“This would go a long way in further strengthening our brotherly and our bilateral economic relations,” Sharif told participants. “You said very aptly that economic and brotherly relations go hand in hand. It cannot be that your political relations flourish but economic relations remain stagnant.”

He said the Shariah-compliant digital bank will also have features that will support and augment banking in Pakistan. 

Sharif called on both nations to join hands to promote their bilateral economic, investment and trade relations “like never before.” He vowed that Pakistan’s government was committed to enhancing bilateral trade and economic ties by working closely with the Kuwaiti government.

Pakistan’s banking sector is dominated by a handful of large lenders with strong capital buffers and profits driven largely by holdings of government securities.

Pakistan has intensified its efforts in recent years to secure foreign investment, particularly from Gulf nations, as it seeks to ensure sustained economic progress. Schehzad has said that the RIDB’s entry into Pakistan reflects strengthening investment ties between Islamabad and Kuwait, particularly in the financial and digital economy sectors.