ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson said on Thursday that certain initiatives related to the Pakistan Saudi Arabia Economic Cooperation Framework “are being materialized,” describing the economic partnership between the two countries as “solid, firmly rooted.”
Islamabad and Riyadh agreed to launch an Economic Cooperation Framework in October, as per the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), to expand bilateral trade and investment ties. This decision was taken during a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh.
Sharif’s office had said the framework will see the two countries focus on priority sectors including energy, industry, mining, information technology, tourism, agriculture and food security.
“Pakistan-Saudi economic partnership is solid, firmly rooted,” Tahir Andrabi, the foreign office spokesperson, said during a weekly news briefing. “There were certain initiatives taken during the visit of our prime minister to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and are being materialized.”
Andrabi said Pakistan’s Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) and the Board of Investment are working on “individual investments” between the two countries but did not provide any further details.
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb departed for Riyadh on Wednesday to attend the three-day Global Development Finance Conference, where he is expected to present Islamabad’s perspective on climate adaptation and financing.
“During the conference, Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb will participate in a high-level session on climate adaptation and resilience, where he will join global leaders in discussing how developing countries can secure the capital needed to address climate vulnerabilities,” the Finance Division said in a statement on Wednesday.
Aurangzeb is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with senior Saudi officials, including leadership of the National Development Fund and the Ministry of Finance, to discuss development financing, investment opportunities and broader economic cooperation.
The finance chief will additionally meet Pakistan’s diplomatic mission in Riyadh to review ongoing economic diplomacy initiatives.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have long enjoyed close ties but have sought to broaden cooperation in recent months.
In September, the two countries signed a security agreement pledging that aggression against one would be treated as an attack on both. The move was widely viewed as formalizing longstanding military cooperation into a binding commitment aimed at bolstering joint deterrence.
The Kingdom also hosts more than 2.5 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as the largest source of remittances for Pakistan’s $407 billion economy.
