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Pakistan PM leaves for Saudi Arabia to attend Future Investment Initiative conference

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif boards the plane en route to Saudi Arabia on October 29, 2024. (Government of Pakistan)
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Updated 29 October 2024
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Pakistan PM leaves for Saudi Arabia to attend Future Investment Initiative conference

  • FII conference to focus on global investments aimed at addressing issues such as AI, robotics, education and energy 
  • Shehbaz Sharif expected to hold talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, key Saudi officials during two-day trip 
Updated 29 October 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday left for a two-day visit to the Kingdom where he will attend the eighth edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh, his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party said. 

The FII conference started in 2017 as an annual event bringing people together to invest in the most promising solutions worldwide. It serves as an important platform for countries to showcase their economic strength, draw foreign investments, and engage in dialogue to shape a sustainable future. 

The eighth edition of the conference will be held from Oct. 29-31 under the theme: ‘Infinite Horizons: Investing Today, Shaping Tomorrow,’ and is expected to feature discussions on how investment can serve as a catalyst for a prosperous and sustainable future. 

“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif departs for his two-day official visit of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to represent Pakistan in Future Investment Initiative,” the PML-N wrote on Instagram. 

The foreign office said in an earlier statement that Sharif will hold bilateral talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other officials of the Kingdom during his visit. 

“The two sides will discuss economic and strategic partnership between Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and explore bilateral cooperation in the economic, energy, and defense domains,” the statement said. 

It added that Sharif is also expected to engage with participating leaders and entrepreneurs at the FII conference. 

In April this year, Sharif met the Saudi crown prince on the sidelines of a special meeting of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh. The two figures had discussed bilateral ties and regional issues, including Israel’s war on Gaza, according to Sharif’s office.

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 the top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.

Both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have also been closely working to increase bilateral trade and investment deals, and the Kingdom this year reaffirmed its commitment to expedite an investment package worth $5 billion.

Islamabad has sought to bolster its trade and investment ties with regional countries, including those in the Middle East, to escape a prolonged macroeconomic crisis that has depleted its foreign exchange reserves over the past couple of years and pushed inflation to double-digit figures. 

Topics: Pakistan Saudi Ties Future Investment Initiative FII 2024

Pakistan’s Mahnoor Omer named among TIME’s ‘Women of the Year’ for 2026

Updated 01 March 2026
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Pakistan’s Mahnoor Omer named among TIME’s ‘Women of the Year’ for 2026

  • Omer moved a Pakistani court against the so-called ‘period tax’ in Sept. 2025 which has since sparked a national debate
  • Taxes on sanitary pads in Pakistan can add up to 40 percent to retail price, UNICEF says only around 12 percent women use such products
Updated 01 March 2026
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani women’s rights activist Mahnoor Omer, who fought against taxes on menstrual products, has been named among the TIME magazine’s ‘Women of the Year’ for 2026.

Omer’s efforts have been recognized alongside 16 activists, artists, athletes and businesswomen in the TIME’s Women of the Year 2026 list, including Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Chloe Zhao.

Dissatisfied with the efforts to educate Pakistani girls about sexual violence, Omer founded the Noor Foundation at the age of 14 and held her own workshops with village girls about everything from climate change to menstruation, according to the TIME magazine.

Two years later, a conversation with a domestic worker about the price of pads made her realize that not everyone could afford these essentials. She moved a court against the so-called “period tax” in Sept. 2025 and the case has sparked a national debate on the subject, considered a taboo by many in Pakistan, since its first hearing late last year.

“A decade and one law degree after her interest in activism was sparked, Omer, now 25, is putting her passion and expertise to work in the name of gender equity,” TIME wrote about Omer on its website.

Taxes imposed on sanitary products in Pakistan can add up to 40 percent to the retail price. UNICEF estimates just 12 percent of women in the country use commercially produced pads or tampons. The alternative, using cloth, risks health impacts including rashes and infections, and can make it impossible for girls to attend school while menstruating.

Omer’s suit, which awaits the government response, has sparked a national discussion. She says she spoke about menstruation to her father and male cousins, who thanked her for standing up for their daughters.
The 25-year-old, who is currently enrolled in a master’s degree in gender, peace, and security at the London School of Economics, sees this case as just the first of many.

“I’m not free until every woman is free,” she was quoted as saying by TIME. “I want to leave no stones unturned in terms of what I can do with the next few decades, as a lawyer for the women in my country and gender minorities in general.”

Topics: Mahnoor Omer

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