Pakistan is actively pursuing a substantial investment from Saudi Arabia, targeting funds of around $25 billion to revitalize its financially beleaguered economy. In the midst of a profound economic predicament, Pakistan has extended an invitation to Saudi Arabian investors, hoping to secure a commitment to infuse $5 billion into the country’s economy.
A distinguished delegation from Saudi Arabia, led by Deputy Investment Minister Ibrahim Almubarak and including representatives from about 30 major Saudi companies, has landed in Pakistan to deliberate on a prospective $5 billion investment deal. Over a two-day investment summit, Pakistani and Saudi businesses from numerous sectors, such as aviation, chemicals, and information technology (IT), will engage in discussions.
This visit by the Saudi team occurs shortly after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s inaugural trip to the kingdom, where he conferred with Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, on accelerating the pledged $5 billion investment.
Strategic Business Meetings to Court Saudi Capital
The investment conference features a sequence of business-to-business (B2B) meetings intended to facilitate Pakistani companies in presenting their investment ventures to the Saudi investors. Participating Saudi firms have diverse interests, spanning sectors such as agriculture, mining, energy, telecom, chemicals, IT, tourism, aviation, and power generation.
Pakistan’s quest for Saudi capital comes at a time when the Saudis are actively seeking to diversify their own economy, which has long been reliant on oil. They have been investing in various domains, both domestically and internationally, including in advanced technology sectors, to prepare for a more diversified future.
Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, who welcomed the Saudi delegates, highlighted the objective of these meetings as a means to uncover investment opportunities that would foster job creation and enhance bilateral trade.
Initial Saudi Investment Hopes Pegged at $25 Billion
While current negotiations with Saudi Arabia revolve around a $5 billion investment, Pakistan had initially hoped to secure a much larger sum of $25 billion from the Gulf nation. A similar amount was also sought from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Following meetings in Saudi Arabia, the two nations have expressed a mutual interest in expediting the investment process for the first installment of the $5 billion package.
Despite previous media reports suggesting that the $5 billion could be the initial portion of the sought-after $25 billion, it is now understood that the present talks are concentrated on the initial $5 billion tranche.
In the face of relentless financial hardships, Pakistan has repeatedly looked to Saudi Arabia for assistance. In 2021, during a foreign exchange crunch, Saudi Arabia provided $3 billion in financial support to Pakistan. As economic challenges persisted, the terms of this financial aid were extended by an additional year last November.