ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Thursday welcomed investment from Saudi Arabia as he met a four-member delegation led by Sheikh Abdulaziz Hamad Al-Jomaih, head of Al-Jomaih Holding Group, one of the largest business groups in Saudi Arabia and a major investor in Pakistani utility K-Electric.
Al-Jomaih bought a 66.4. percent share in KE in 2005 as part of a consortium comprising Al-Jomaih, Abraaj Group and Kuwait’s National Industries Group (NIG). In 2016, the consortium decided to sell the stake to China’s Shanghai Electric Power and submitted an application for a National Security Certificate (NSC) to the Pakistani Privatization Commission. However, the group still awaits approval of the deal due to long-standing issues of KE’s payables and receivables with various government entities.
The process was expedited after visits to Pakistan in the last few years by senior Al-Jomaih officials, who met with Pakistani top government officials including former Prime Ministers Imran Khan and Shehbaz Sharif to speak about obstacles including regulatory approvals and liquidity constraints as a consequence of mounting circular debt plaguing the country’s power sector.
The government of Pakistan currently owns a 24.4 percent stake in K-Electric, which powers the country’s largest city and commercial hub of Karachi.
“Al-Jomaih Group has invested heavily in Karachi Electric,” Kakar was quoted as saying by the PM office in a statement shared with media. “We value Saudi investment in Pakistan, welcome Saudi investment in Pakistan’s energy sector.”
“The delegation of Al-Jumia Group thanked the Prime Minister and the government team for solving the long-standing problems of Karachi Electric,” the statement added, as the team informed Kakar about new investment projects of 1500MW relying on local sources and renewable energy.
“The PM called on Al-Jomaih group to invest in the alternative energy sector in Pakistan,” the statement concluded.
Pakistani PM welcomes Saudi investment in meeting with Al-Jomaih delegation
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Pakistani PM welcomes Saudi investment in meeting with Al-Jomaih delegation
- Al-Jomaih is one of the largest business groups in Saudi Arabia and a major investor in Pakistani utility K-Electric
- Al-Jomaih bought a 66.4% share in KE in 2005 along with Abraaj Group and Kuwait’s National Industries Group
Pakistan urges developed nations, global institutions to expand role in climate financing
- Pakistan is recognized among countries worldwide most affected by climate-induced disasters
- Planning minister stresses redesigning global financial system on principles of responsibility, equity
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal this week called on developed nations and international financial institutions to play a greater role in helping developing countries adopt green technologies at lower costs, state-run media reported.
Pakistan has suffered frequent climate change-induced disasters over the past couple of years, ranging from floods, droughts, heatwaves, cyclones and other irregular weather patterns.
This year the South Asian country reported over 1,000 deaths from floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains and the melting of glaciers.
“He [Iqbal] said Pakistan has urged developed countries and international financial institutions to expand their role in climate financing to enable developing nations to adopt green technologies at lower costs,” state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Saturday.
The minister was speaking at the Second Asia Energy Transition Summit held at Pakistani university LUMS on Saturday.
Iqbal warned that climate change is intensifying emergencies and increasing economic burdens on vulnerable countries, adding that financial incentives and concessional financing have become indispensable for sustainable climate action.
“He further emphasized the need to redesign the global financial system based on the principles of collective responsibility and equity,” APP said.
The minister noted that Pakistan has been introducing comprehensive reforms in its development agenda to promote renewable energy, solar power and green technological solutions.
The country, he said, possesses “strong solar potential,” a robust renewable energy market, a wide talent pool in engineering and science and an enabling environment for green innovation.
Pakistan has regularly urged developed countries to fulfill past pledges and provide easy access to climate funding without attaching conditions, especially at Conference of Parties (COP30) climate summits.
Islamabad was instrumental in getting the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) established at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt in 2022. The Loss and Damage Fund aims to help developing and least developed countries cope with both economic and non-economic impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather events and slow-onset crises like sea-level rise and droughts.
