Islamabad (TDI): Pakistan’s government and businesses presented 40 projects worth $28billion before the visiting trade delegation from Saudi Arabia.
The meeting of the Pakistan-Saudi Business Council became the official platform where these potential investment projects were pitched to the 16-member delegation, led by Prince Mansour bin Mohammed Al Saud.
The final agreements upon these pitches are expected to be concluded in the Riyadh chapter of the business council meeting later this month. The meeting will coincide with the visit of Pakistani Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, who will oversee the signing of agreements.
The 40 projects, that were presented, encompass areas such as energy, mining, IT, agriculture and tourism; complimenting Pakistan’s larger effort to draw investment and stabilize the economy.
“Pakistani companies pitched about 40 projects to these Saudi companies and now they are in discussions on how to choose and which project to choose,” said Jamil Ahmed Qureshi, secretary at the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).
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Since the signing of the Defense Pact between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, both sides have fast tracked economic cooperation as well. An earlier delegation from Pakistan, including Pakistan’s IT Minister, visited Saudi Arabia and set the tone for possible economic initiatives.
In less than a week’s time, a delegation from Saudi Arabia returned that visit. These back-to-back business meetings are meant to finalize deals and terms prior the visit of the PM and the subsequent business forum which he will attend in Riyadh.
The projects presented to the Saudi delegation include major industrial and infrastructure ventures such as the development of a $10 billion greenfield refinery, a completely new facility built from the ground up, and a $2.1 billion brownfield refinery to upgrade existing capacity.
Other projects which were pitched include a $1.8 billion integrated steel mill, the $3.6 billion Diamer Basha Dam hydroelectric project, and a $5 billion naphtha cracker complex.
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