ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will sign “solid agreements worth billions of dollars” soon, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday during a dinner held in honor of a high-level Saudi business delegation visiting the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

A 50-member delegation, led by the Kingdom’s Assistant Minister of Investment Ibrahim Al-Mubarak, arrived in Pakistan on Sunday, with representatives of some 30 Saudi firms from the fields of IT, telecom, energy, aviation, construction, mining exploration, agriculture and human resource development.

Speaking at the dinner, Sharif expressed satisfaction over what he called “tangible progress” at a Pakistani-Saudi Arabia investment conference held in Islamabad earlier in the day.

“Today, B2B (business-to-business) interactions have been most productive,” he said. “That time is coming very fast, when we will, God willing, witness agreements, solid agreements worth billions of dollars. That will set the ball rolling.”

Sharif said his government was determined to remove hurdles in the way of the speedy achievement of targets.

“And I want to assure you that in that, we are fully resolved and committed,” the PM said, adding that the Saudi side had expressed confidence in the working of Pakistan’s Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), set up last year to oversee all foreign investments in the country.

Speaking at the dinner, the Saudi assistant investment minister said Pakistan was a “strategic” partner and friend.

“The private sectors have interacted very quickly. We have spoken to them, only a few days after we have spoken to them, everybody showed interest,” he added. “The relationship with Pakistan has always been strong, but we look for it to be even stronger, and we can do great things together. I am sure we can achieve both countries’ aspirations and visions.”

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been working closely in recent weeks 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.

The Saudi 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, a trip during which Pakistan pitched projects worth at least $20 billion to Riyadh, according to the Pakistani foreign ministry. 

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.

INVESTMENT CONFERENCE

Speaking at the investment conference on Monday morning, Al-Mubarak said this was his second visit to Pakistan in two weeks and many influential leaders from globally renowned Saudi companies were part of his delegation.

“To the Saudi government and Saudi companies, Pakistan is considered a high-priority economic investment and business opportunity,” Al-Mubarak said.

“Today, we want to connect you [Pakistan] all to Saudi companies who desire to continue building their international presence, for Saudi Arabia’s ambitions do not stop at our borders and we would like to see Pakistan as one of our leading international partners,” the Saudi official added. 

“So, this gathering provides a wonderful opportunity for them [Saudi companies] to develop a deeper understanding of the great opportunities available for investment in Pakistan and to learn about related regulations, requirements, and incentives.”

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Petroleum Minister Dr. Musadik Malik said 125 Pakistani companies were negotiating with the Saudi companies who were visiting Islamabad. 

“First, there were government-to-government agreements during the visit of the Saudi foreign minister [last month] and now there will be business-to-business agreements,” he said.

“To facilitate the visiting Saudi companies, the Pakistani commerce ministry has affiliated one focal person with each Saudi company.”

Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan said high officials of more than 32 Saudi companies were in Pakistan. 

“Pakistani companies are present here, in the energy sector, in the food sector, in the construction sector, in the renewable section, in the ports and shipping section, and the IT services and general services,” Khan told reporters. 

He said the visit by the Saudi delegation was “just the beginning” and now a Pakistani delegation would visit the Kingdom nect “to move forward toward the implementation phase.”