PM is very bullish about Gulf investments

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has stated that a $25 billion investment each from Saudi Arabia and the UAE would be realised in three to four or five years in mineral and mines as well as agriculture and the IT sector.

The premier stated this in response to a question asked by foreign journalists during an interaction on Tuesday (telecasted) that the Chief of Army Staff during a meeting with the business community on the weekend stated that the UAE and Saudi Arabia would invest $25 billion each in Pakistan and would he [the PM] confirm the investment.

He said they were here to assist the electoral process and are focusing on the day-to-day business and economic and security challenges.

Jilani expects ‘huge’ investment from Gulf states

He said the caretaker government as per constitutional mandate within that budgetary allocation is trying to attempt and rearrange whatever fiscal space is available on fiscal and monetary policy. He said the government trying to showcase SIFC for an economic recovery strategy focusing on agriculture, minerals, and information technology. “We are also looking forward to at least one or two major areas in mine and minerals where the FDI may realise,” he added.

Regarding whether the government would call the IPPs for renegotiation of contracts, he said that as far as the IPPs and the government’s contractual obligations were concerned, the good news was “we are discussing and we are discussing it thoroughly.”

“How much we have discussed as well as what we have discussed, that would not be brought into the public domain,” Kakar added.

He said that “everyone feels that there is a need for some sort of resolution because the contracts with the IPPs are uneven.”

Kakar said that without redesigning the government structure, the caretaker setup was mainly focused on restructuring economic and fiscal policies to lay the foundation for economic recovery and it would depend on the elected government to take it or reject it.

However, he also described his government’s economic reform agenda and said the next steps included the privatisation of couple of DISCOs which were on the list. He said that certain organisations and outfits needed to be privatised and the caretaker government might achieve or realise one or two goals to do or realise within six months.

He said there was a need for reforms in the power and taxation sectors and again, the caretaker government was not trying to create goalposts beyond its time frame and mandate, but rather to provide the basis for mid-term reforms. He added that the government was following the policy of formulating a viable strategy to set a strategic path for economic planning.

In reply to a question about what can be done in terms of Afghanistan and Pakistan as Pakistan is saying that much of the problem is based and these guys are operating from Afghanistan, he said that “surge of attacks on the Western border and one thing is very important that leftover ‘gadgets’ of the US and its allies have changed the landscape of the entire region. This is a challenge which was not well thought and this is a problem recognised by everyone. Pakistan has been at the forefront taking this brunt and was accused by its own partners for years that it was not a willing partner in the war against terrorism but it could foresee that time would come when all these powers would leave this region and it would be Pakistan that would be facing the mess and this is what is exactly happening to Pakistan, which happened in 1989 and again in 2021.”

He said Pakistan should be viewed as a responsible government, which was against terrorism and radicalization.

“We will not surrender and are planning, executing from our own resources and reforming the tax system,” he said, adding that “when he says reforms it is for this reason that the country cannot rely on assistance to take on its security challenges, so the country has to raise its own money.”

Kakar said the military was providing all the inputs, the caretaker government was seeking. “The incumbent caretaker government has excellent relations with the Pakistan Army and both are working together especially, for economic recovery.” He said his government was not being dictated.

He said the people of Balochistan welcomed the CPEC projects beyond political affiliations and now that project had entered the second phase.

Referring to the $6 trillion copper and gold deposits in Balochistan, he said the RekoDiq project would start by the end of December 2023.

He said all concerned parties would have to develop a model for exploring mineral-rich areas connected to Pakistan’s economic model. “We are hopeful that once the legitimate economic interests are there, all the stakeholders would be interested in Pakistan’s economic stability and would like to see a secure Pakistan.” He said the caretaker government was mandated to facilitate general elections as soon as possible while complying with the constitutional obligations. He said that after the census there was a constitutional requirement with regard to limitation and that is required to be done by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

In response to a question about PTI’s participation in the election, Kakar said that all political parties registered with the Election Commission would have equal opportunities to participate in the general elections without discrimination.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023