ISLAMABAD: Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan HE Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Maliki is reportedly holding meetings with different ministers to finalise agenda prior to the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Saudi Arabia during Ramazan.

On Tuesday, he met Federal Minister for Energy Muhammad Hammad Azhar and discussed issues of bilateral interest and investment in energy sector. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Power and Petroleum Tabish Gauhar and Secretary Power Division were also present during the meeting.

Talking to the ambassador, the Minister said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were tied in close brotherly relations based on common religion, culture, values and traditions and matters relating to ongoing cooperation between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in the energy sector and upcoming visit of the Prime Minister to Saudi Arabia were discussed during the meeting.

Hammad Azhar informed the Saudi ambassador that the time was perfect to invest in the oil refining business in Pakistan since the demand for oil was increasing. He said the government was bringing a policy to facilitate potential investors in that regard.

SAPM on Power and Petroleum apprised the Saudi ambassador on key features of new proposed Refining Policy which would provide tax, customs duty and tariff related concessions to the investors for a reasonable period. Potential investors like Saudi ARMCO could benefit from the concessions, he added.

Ambassador Nawaf Bin Saeed Al-Maliki congratulated Hammad Azhar on taking charge of the Energy portfolio. He said Saudi Arabia's desire was to further strengthen the existing close brotherly relations between the two countries. The upcoming visit of Pakistan's Prime Minister to Saudi Arabia would pave the way for exploring new vistas of cooperation between the two brotherly countries, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021