Karachi: The Pakistan Regional Economic Forum (PREF) and Saudi Bridge, two private business entities, this month signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a bilateral platform that would encourage investments in joint venture projects worth $500 million, the PREF’s chairman confirmed on Monday.
The PREF is a regional advisory private sector forum registered in Pakistan that says it facilitates the development of the regional market through multi-country joint ventures. Led by Pakistan’s former chairman of the Board of Investment, Haroon Sharif, PREF says it is supported by the Chinese government, other regional countries and private sector organizations.
Saudi Bridge is also a private sector entity that says on its website that it enables mutual understanding and creates opportunities between Saudi Arabia and other stakeholders around the world. Saudi Bridge says it delivers solutions that helps businesses and governments achieve sustainable, long-term impact. These solutions include market entries, strategic matchmakings, hosting delegations and ecosystem activations.
The PREF and Saudi Bridge signed the MoU in Riyadh on Feb. 3 to establish the “Saudi-Pakistan Bridge Initiative,” a joint statement by both sides said. The bridge initiative is a bilateral platform designed to accelerate private sector investment flows, market entry and cross-border economic partnerships between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and other regional countries, the statement said.
“PREF and Saudi Bridge are working on $500 million joint venture projects between the two countries and are also aiming to reach out to China and other countries,” Sharif told Arab News.
The bridge initiative will function as an activation platform, enabling transaction-oriented collaboration between investors, enterprises, funds and ecosystem stakeholders, the joint statement said.
The initiative will cover sectors such as energy, mining, sports goods manufacturing, logistics, food, agri-processing, health care, technology, industrial manufacturing, construction, and strategic services.
The platform will roll out sector-focused delegations, market entry and soft-landing programs, regulatory workshops, joint investment forums and a One-Stop Bridge Desk to support bilateral engagement over its initial three-year term, the joint statement added.
Sharif clarified that projects part of the bridge would be executed in both countries.
“In some cases, the production capacity will be enhanced here,” he said. “In some cases manufacturing will start in Saudi Arabia with the help of Pakistani expertise and Chinese technology.”
The agreement takes place as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia move to broaden their economic and defense cooperation in recent months. The two countries signed a strategic defense pact in September 2025, according to which both pledged to treat an attack against one of them as aggression against both.
In October, both nations agreed to launch an economic cooperation framework to strengthen bilateral trade and investment relations.
