THE announcement of Prime Minister Anwarul-Haq Kakar that Saudi Arabia would invest $25 billion in different sectors of Pakistan’s economy during the next two to five years would surely serve as a ray of hope for people of Pakistan, who are extremely worried about the prevailing economic predicament of the country and its future. During his interaction with foreign journalists, the Prime Minister also revealed plans aimed at revival of the privatization programme, out-of-box solutions to the problems facing the country’s energy sector and reiterated the pledge of the interim government to facilitate holding general election as early as possible while observing the constitutional obligations.
The statement of the Prime Minister conveys a clear impression about the resolve of the state to revive the economy by bringing in investment from friendly countries and the resolve of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to play a leading role in this regard. Saudi Arabia always stood by Pakistan through thick and thin and in the recent past it demonstrated firm solidarity with the country by offering significant and timely assistance during periods of extreme economic and financial uncertainty. Along with China and UAE, the KSA responded promptly to Pakistan’s requests to provide support for balance of payment and for repayment of the mounting debt. The Saudi leadership won hearts and minds of people of Pakistan when, a few months back, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman gave directions for carrying out a study for increasing Saudi investment in Pakistan. In fact, Saudi Arabia plays a pivotal role in economic development of Pakistan as apart from provision of oil on deferred payment, Saudis provided grants on numerous occasions and the Kingdom is home to over two million Pakistani workforce that sends home significant foreign exchange. Understandably, the Prime Minister did not specify projects in which the Kingdom would invest but gave a broader hint in this regard when he stated that the investment would come in mining, agriculture and information technology sectors. These sectors are crucial for economic development of the country and the Government is focusing on plans and programmes to tap their maximum potential in the shortest possible time. In fact, a beginning has been made in the budget for the current financial year by providing a number of incentives for investment and development of these sectors. As stated by the Prime Minister, Pakistan’s untapped mineral deposits are conservatively valued at six trillion dollars and their proper exploitation can help overcome major financial and economic woes of the country. It may be pointed out that last month Barrick Gold Corp said it was open to bringing in Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund as one of its partners in Pakistan’s Reko Diq gold and copper mines. Through civil-military cooperation, a powerful Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has already been established which has held several sessions to mull over policies and plans to facilitate local and foreign investors. We hope the Council would take special care to devise plans aimed at creating a congenial environment for attracting Saudi investment. Experts say as the Public Investment Fund (PIF) remains the main vehicle for Saudi investment abroad, Pakistan should present concrete proposals to PIF and its subsidiary companies for investment, particularly in infrastructure, agriculture and livestock, information technology and banking and finance. Massive developmental activities are either already taking place or planned to be initiated under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and keeping this in mind, Pakistan should focus on imparting relevant skills to its manpower so that it could grab maximum share in the manpower market of the Kingdom. There have been media reports about the possible short visit of the Saudi Crown Prince to Pakistan and with this in view, there is a need for relevant ministries, divisions and departments to work minutely on workable plans and projects which should be finalized during the visit. It may also be pointed out that announcements about hefty Saudi investment in Pakistan were also made in the past but progress could not be achieved due to some diplomatic hitches and our inability to pursue those understandings. Now that we have a specific high level decision-making body to facilitate foreign investment, it is hoped that all hurdles in the way of translating such announcements into concrete on-ground plans would be removed through closer interaction with concerned Saudi ministries and agencies.
