Islamabad (TDI): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday called for a mining policy which will benefit both the investors and the country during the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2025 (PMIF25).
The two-day forum, hosted by Pakistan, opened at the Jinnah Convention Centre in in Islamabad.
Pakistan plans to unveil a unified framework to promote mining and mineral investment opportunities across 4 provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) at the high-level event which will be attended by around three hundred foreign delegates.
The PMIF25 will serve as a premier platform for international stakeholders to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan’s emerging minerals sector and unlock the nation’s vast mineral potential.
PM Shehbaz underlined the mining potential across Pakistan and said, “We have to make sure that whatever permissions to potential investors in future, we will not allow raw materials to be shipped out of the country.
Read More: Pakistan, Uzbekistan Explore Cooperation in Copper Mining
He added, “From today onwards, there has to be an integrated policy where investors mine raw material, have downstream industry, convert them into finished products and then export it out.”
“Such deals will entail that investors will bring technology and transfer it to the country over a period of time,” he said.
The PM continued, “This will be the cardinal principle of our partnership. In the future, investors are most welcome to these mines all over the country but there has to be a partnership which brings benefits to both sides.
Read More: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia Eye Mining Deals
Speaking about Pakistan’s natural resources, he said, “This is not a secret. In the public domain, these deposits are valued trillions of dollars. If we are able to utilize these great assets, Pakistan would say goodbye to institutions like the IMF. It will be able to get rid of the burden of loans and borrowed sums of money costing us a fortune.
The Prime Minister also urged the federal and provincial governments, institutions and the military to work together saying, “If we are able to act together, we can turn the corner within no time.”
