Newsnomics ANGELINA AJAY reporter |

Saudi Arabia has committed to invest $ 25bn in Pakistan over the next five years focusing on energy, IT, minerals, defense, and agriculture sectors under the Special Investment Facilitation Council.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif met with UAE’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Makkah while he was on visit to Makkah for performing Umrah. Both sides agreed to expedite the first tranche of a $5 billion Saudi investment package for Pakistan.

Soon, a Saudi delegation led by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, comprises Saudi Minister of Water and Agriculture Abdul Rahman Abdul Mohsen Al-Fadley, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Ibrahim Al Khorayef, Deputy Minister of Investment Badr Al Badr, the head of Saudi Special Committee, Mohammad Mazyed Al Towaijri and senior officials from Ministry of Energy and Saudi Fund for General Investments landed at Rawalpindi’s Nur Khan Airbase in Pakistan on Monday April 15,2024.

On Tuesday, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia said, “his visit to Pakistan would deliver “significant benefits” in the upcoming months by realizing the potential of untapped economic development” by addressing the conference.

“We are extremely impressed by the very proactive attitude that we saw in our meetings especially with the [Special] Investment [Facilitation] Council (SIFC) and a very strong business-focused approach on addressing challenges and opportunities and highlighting the work we can do together.”

“I feel very confident that the results of this visit and the results of the work being done between the two respective teams with this attitude, with this approach of focus on results [and] overcoming hurdles will deliver significant benefits for both of our countries [and] will significantly accelerate the process of achieving those investments that we’re looking at together. I can say that there is significant opportunity to increase the level of investment that is already on the table,” the Saudi foreign Minister added.”

The Saudi diplomat expressed his hope to achieve ‘significant’ work progress in the next few months with an existing potential and a ‘very positive’ response.

He said, “the Saudi kingdom was a strong believer in Pakistan’s untapped potential, particularly in terms of economic development which was “clear to everyone.”

The Saudi foreign minister expressed his confidence that the briefings given to the Saudi during the SIFC meeting had “successfully highlighted viable and attractive investment opportunities and options effectively capturing their interest”.

In response, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar appreciated the Saudi “keen interest” with increasing investments in Pakistan, saying “the visit had provided the Saudi delegation with firsthand experience of the SIFC Stands for the Special Investment Facilitation Council.

In SIFC meeting, Pakistan Foreign minister Ishaq Dar explained to the Saudi delegation that how Pakistan aimed to streamline investment processes and ensure rapid decision-making through the SIFC, fostering a flourishing investment-friendly environment in the country. Dar showcased the abundant opportunities in agriculture, information technology and mining sectors, inviting Saudi investors to engage in mutually beneficial partnerships.

“The Saudi side expressed great significance and interest in Pakistan’s improving investment ecosystem, appreciated SIFC’s role in amicable resolution of kingdom’s legacy investment/business related issues, and showed keen interest to invest in key sectors of Pakistan. 

In response Pakistan assured about “maximum support and facilitation in fast-tracking the kingdom’s prospective multi-billion dollars investments.” 

The two nations also finalized a bilateral implementation mechanism to closely coordinate and execute investment related matters at the functional level to turn the sovereign commitments into tangible economic out comes,” according to the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan.

Saudi Arabia also expressed their concern about the unacceptable situation in Gaza that killed 33,000 civilians by saying “It is a complete failure of the international system and systems of international law and government to live up to their responsibilities, while calling out the “double standards” of Western powers.”