‘Investment talks’: high-level Saudi business delegation lands in Pakistan

A business and official delegation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) arrived in Pakistan on Sunday to hold business-to-business (B2B) meetings, Aaj News reported.

Federal Ministers Musadik Malik and Jam Kamal Khan welcomed the delegation upon its arrival in Islamabad.

Heads of over thirty Saudi companies from agriculture, technology, retail, and corporate sectors are part of this delegation.

The meetings would focus on discussions for trade deals and investment in joint ventures with Pakistani entrepreneurs, a government official post on X said.

According to the statement, talks are scheduled in various sectors of economy, and some progress is also expected on government-to-business and government-to-government deals.

“Key sectors like IT, energy, and agriculture are set for ground-breaking B2B discussions.”

In the face of various economic challenges, such as a bulging external account debt and low foreign investment, Islamabad has increased its engagement with bilateral partners, including the GCC countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, inviting them to invest in agriculture, IT, and mining.

Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a high-level review meeting on Friday regarding the progress of Saudi investment and projects in Pakistan.

The meeting was informed in detail about the visit of the prime minister to Saudi Arabia, as well as the arrival of the Saudi Arabian business delegation to Islamabad and the expected investment in the sectors.

Furthermore, the prime minister expressed his gratitude to the Saudi leadership for offering all kinds of support for Pakistan’s development and prosperity during his recent visit to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi delegation calls on COAS

According to the prime minister, he hopes the meetings between Pakistani businessmen and the Saudi delegation will be fruitful.

Saudi Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, in his visit to Pakistan last month, said there was a great opportunity to increase investment, which was already on the table, through overcoming “hurdles.”

“I believe there is (a) significant possibility of increasing the level of investment that is already planned,” he said then.