Reaffirms commitment to strengthening bilateral economic ties on the sidelines of IMF-World Bank meetings in Washington DC
Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Aurangzeb during an interview with VOA. SCREEN GRAB
Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to foster a deeper economic partnership with Saudi Arabia, briefing his Saudi counterpart on ongoing privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and key airports.
Aurangzeb met Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Aljadaan on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Bank annual meetings in Washington DC. The finance minister sought Saudi support for infrastructure development projects as both sides saw growing trade and investment ties.
He reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to pursue economic reforms under the IMF program to ensure long-term macroeconomic stability.
The IMF has announced a staff-level agreement to release the next loan tranches of $1.2 billion after Islamabad so far agreed to the old pre-flood budget targets and to publish the government report before the board meeting.
Read: The KE row solved paving the way for Saudi takeover
The two ministers agreed that institutions such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) could play a crucial role in mobilizing and de-risking private sector investment in Pakistan.
Aurangzeb briefed his Saudi counterpart on the ongoing privatization process of PIA and key airports, underscoring Islamabad’s determination to attract strategic investment through transparency and efficiency.
During a meeting with the director of the US International Development Finance Corporation in Washington DC, the finance minister highlighted significant investment opportunities in Pakistan’s oil and gas, mining and mineral, agriculture, IT and pharmaceutical sectors.
Read more: Sialkot to get new industrial area
Aurangzeb emphasized consensus at the leadership level to strengthen trade and investment ties. He welcomed DFC’s interest in facilitating private sector-led financing of projects in Pakistan.
Cementation of bands
In a major boost to Saudi-Pakistan investment ties, Prince Mansour Bin Mohammed Al Saud signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chishti to acquire a majority stake in KES Power Ltd, the parent company that owns 66.4% of K-Electric, last week.
In an interview with Express news in New York, Defense Minister Khwaja Asif said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s decades-long partnership has now been formalized and expanded to include defense and commercial investments.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif recently gave in-principle approval to set up a new industrial estate in Sialkot. Chairing a meeting to review cases relating to industrial areas across the province, she agreed to a proposal to develop the zone on 400 acres of land near the Sialkot International Airport.
She also agreed to offer four industrial estates to foreign investors in addition to those in Bhalwal, Vehari and Bahawalpur being considered for Saudi investment. In a significant step, she decided to allocate the Chunian Industrial Estate to the Fisheries Department.
