Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday urged the two Kuwaiti financial giants to help Pakistan overcome it's energy shortage and development of infrastructure through investments in Thar Coal and building of Gwadar Port's facilities.
"We have one of the world's largest coal reserves-175 billion tons in Thar. The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) should consider investing in mining of that coal and generation of electricity with it," he stressed. The Prime Minister pleaded this during his separate meetings with Acting Director General Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) Hesham Ibrahim Al-Waqayan and Acting Managing Director KIA Othman Ibrahim Al-Isa here on the second day of his two-day official visit to the oil-rich Arab state.
Gilani who met the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, also held wide-ranging talks with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Monday to bolster bilateral ties. The Prime Minister offered the top executives of KFAED and KIA to take advantage of the liberal investment regime as well as the investment-friendly incentives in Pakistan. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, Chairman Board of Investment Salim Mandviwala, senior PPP leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Pakistan's Ambassador in Kuwait Iftikhar Aziz and senior officials were also present in the meetings.
During his meeting with Chairman KIA, the Prime Minister said, Pakistan is willing to offer Kuwait a portion of land of its strategically located Gwadar port for setting up a terminal for the storage of its strategic oil reserves. "We would also welcome KIA's investment for the development of Gwadar Port facilities and its related infrastructure projects", he added. Gilani also sought the KIA's investment for establishment of cold chain and food grain storage facilities, setting up of agro based industries in horticulture commodities and investment in livestock, dairy and poultry sectors in Pakistan.
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