ISLAMABAD: The Executive Committee of Pakistan’s Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) on Wednesday reviewed projects under accords signed with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait last month, with the aim to fast-track the commitments into “economic dividends.”
Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar signed multimillion dollar deals with the UAE and Kuwait during a week-long visit to the Middle East in December, ahead of attending the United Nations climate conference, or COP28, in Dubai. In the UAE, he signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) in various fields, including energy, port operation projects, wastewater treatment, food security, logistics, mining, aviation and banking and financial services.
With Kuwait, Kakar signed deals in the sectors of manpower, IT, mineral exploration, food security, energy and defense.
“It [SIFC review committee] also reviewed progress regarding finalization of bankable projects under the auspices of MoUs and Framework Agreements concluded with the United Arab Emirates and the State of Kuwait respectively,” state-run APP reported after the conclusion of the SIFC meeting.
“The Committee directed ministries to fast-track the related work to convert these commitments into economic dividends.”
The new Special Investment Facilitation Council was set up in July last year to serve as a “one window operation” to address any concerns of foreign investors, with a special focus on attracting funds from Gulf nations.
Pakistan’s special investment council aims to fast-track projects under accords concluded with UAE, Kuwait
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Pakistan’s special investment council aims to fast-track projects under accords concluded with UAE, Kuwait
- PM Kakar signed multimillion dollar deals with UAE and Kuwait during week-long visit to Middle East in December
- Special Investment Facilitation Council was set up in July to serve as “one window operation” for foreign investors
Hundreds of migrants, including Pakistanis, land in Greece after search operation at sea
- Rescued migrants were taken to a temporary facility on Crete after reaching the port of Agia Galini
- Greece has made deportations of rejected asylum seekers a priority under its migration policy
ATHENS: Greece’s Coast Guard rescued about 540 migrants from a fishing boat off Europe’s southernmost island of Gavdos on Friday, one of the biggest groups to reach the country in recent months.
The migrants were found during a Greek search operation some 16 nautical miles (29.6 km) off Gavdos, a Coast Guard statement said. They are all well and are being taken to a temporary facility on the nearby island of Crete after reaching the port of Agia Galini, a Coast Guard official said, adding most of the migrants were men from Bangladesh, Egypt and Pakistan.
In a separate incident on Thursday, the EU’s border agency Frontex rescued 65 men and five women from two migrant boats in distress off Gavdos, the Greek Coast Guard said.
Greece was on the front line of a 2015-16 migration crisis when more than a million people from the Middle East and Africa landed on its shores before moving on to other European countries, mainly Germany.
Flows have ebbed since then, but both Crete and Gavdos — the two Mediterranean islands nearest to the African coast — have seen a steep rise in migrant boats, mainly from Libya, reaching their shores over the past year and deadly accidents remain common along that route.
Greece, Cyprus, Spain and Italy will be eligible for help in dealing with migratory pressures under a new EU mechanism when the bloc’s pact on migration and asylum enters into force in mid-2026.
The center-right government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said deportation of rejected asylum seekers will be a priority.
