ISLAMABAD: US companies are seeking to invest in Pakistan’s largely untapped minerals sector that boasts one of the world’s largest copper and gold deposits, the Pakistani government said Wednesday.
Eric Meyer, Senior Bureau Official for the State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, conveyed that interest directly to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during meeting in Islamabad, according to a government statement.
The meeting came a day after Meyer attended the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum, an international summit aimed at attracting foreign investment in the country’s mining sector. Apart from gold and copper, Pakistan is also rich in lithium used to make batteries, as well as other minerals.
The summit has drawn participation from major international companies, including Canada-based Barrick Gold, as well as government officials from the United States, Saudi Arabia, China, Turkiye, the United Kingdom, Azerbaijan, and other nations.
Pakistan’s massive copper and gold deposits are located in Reko Diq, a district in restive Balochistan, which has witnessed a surge in attacks by Baloch separatists in recent years. Pakistan’s powerful army chief Gen. Asim Munir had told foreign companies and investors at the summit that the military would ensure their security.
The statement said Meyer “acknowledged the potential of Pakistan’s mineral sector,” adding that American companies are interested in exploring investment opportunities.
He reaffirmed Washington’s interest in expanding bilateral cooperation, including in such sectors as trade, investment, and counterterrorism, the statement said. Sharif said Pakistan’s minerals sector offered “immense opportunities” and encouraged US companies to take advantage of the investment potential.
Sharif expressed Islamabad’s desire to strengthen ties with the Trump administration. Meyer’s visit marks the first by a Trump administration official since the US imposed a 29 percent tariff on Pakistani exports as part of his trade war.
Sharif’s office said in a statement later Wednesday that the Pakistani prime minister will dispatch a high-level delegation to Washington to negotiate with Trump administration officials over the tariffs issue and to discuss how to enhance bilateral trade.
Pakistan says US companies seek to invest in country’s untapped minerals sector
https://arab.news/9rncy
Pakistan says US companies seek to invest in country’s untapped minerals sector
- Senior US official Eric Meyer conveyed that interest directly to Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif during ongoing Islamabad visit
- Meyer is in Pakistan to attend an international summit aimed at attracting foreign investment in country’s mining sector
Saudi Arabia raises $605m in January sukuk issuance: NDMC
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s National Debt Management Center has raised SR2.26 billion ($605 million) through its latest sukuk issuance.
Sukuk are Shariah-compliant financial instruments akin to bonds, granting investors a share in the issuer’s assets. Unlike conventional bonds, they comply with Islamic finance principles, which forbid interest-based transactions.
According to the NDMC, the January issuance was divided into five tranches. The first tranche was valued at SR410 million and is set to mature in 2031. The second amounted to SR338 million, maturing in 2033, while the third tranche, worth SR101 million, will expire in 2036.
The fourth portion, valued at SR523,000, is due in 2039, while the last tranche, due in 2041, was valued at SR1.42 billion.
The January figure represents a decrease of 67.64 percent compared to December, when the Kingdom raised SR7.01 billion from sukuk issuances.
In recent years, the Kingdom’s debt market has experienced swift growth, with investors increasingly turning to fixed-income instruments as rising global interest rates reshape the financial landscape.
This comes as the Gulf Cooperation Council sukuk outstanding climbed 12.7 percent to $1.1 trillion by the end of the third quarter of 2025, according to a recent Fitch Ratings report.
The US-based credit rating agency said debt capital market activity in the GCC is expected to remain strong into 2026, supported by a healthy pipeline of anticipated issuances.
The report noted that sukuk issuances increased 22 percent year on year in the first nine months of this year, accounting for 40 percent of total GCC DCM outstanding.
Sukuk also outpaced bond growth, which expanded 7.2 percent year on year.
Also known as Islamic bonds, these debt products allow investors to gain partial ownership of an issuer’s assets until maturity.
