Amid investment push, Pakistan prepares for upcoming visit by Saudi business delegation

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday he hoped for “fruitful” meetings when a high-level delegation of Saudi businessmen that will visit Islamabad in the “next few days” amid a push by the South Asian nation to attract foreign investment. 
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been closely working in recent weeks to increase bilateral trade and investment deals, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also reaffirming the Kingdom’s commitment to expedite an investment package of $5 billion.
On Thursday, Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said a “high-powered” delegation of Saudi businesspeople and heads of major Saudi companies would be in Islamabad in the “next few days” to discuss private sector investments. 
“The best hospitality should be given to the Saudi delegation,” Sharif said as per a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office after a review meeting on Saudi investments in Pakistan. 
“It is hoped that the meetings of Pakistani businessmen with the Saudi delegation will be fruitful.”
The business delegation’s visit comes on the heels of one by Sharif to Riyadh from Apr. 27-30 to attend a special two-day meeting of the World Economic Forum. On the sidelines of the WEF conference, the Pakistani PM met and discussed bilateral investment and economic partnerships with the crown prince and the Saudi ministers of finance, industries, investment, energy, climate, and economy and planning, the adviser of the Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Council and the presidents of the Saudi central bank and Islamic Development Bank.
This was Sharif’s second meeting with the crown prince in a month. Before that he also met him when he traveled to the Kingdom on April 6-8. The Saudi foreign minister was also in Pakistan last month, during which Pakistan pitched projects worth at least $20 billion to Riyadh.
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 a top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country. 
Saudi Arabia has often come to Pakistan’s aid in the past, regularly providing it oil on deferred payments and offering direct financial support to help stabilize its economy and shore up forex reserves.
As things stand, Pakistan desperately needs to shore up its foreign reserves and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new bailout deal, for which it needs to signal that it can continue to meet requirements for foreign financing which has been a key demand in previous loan packages. 
Last year Pakistan set up the Special Investment Facilitation Council, a body consisting of Pakistani civilian and military leaders and specially tasked to promote investment in Pakistan. The council is so far focusing on investments in the energy, agriculture, mining, information technology and aviation sectors and specifically targeting Gulf nations.