ISLAMABAD – Pakistan and Saudi Arabia recently expressed their resolve to bolster the economic ties during the visit of kingdom’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud.
During his visit, various memorandum of understandings (MoUs) aimed at deepening financial relations were signed as Islamabad offered various investment opportunities to Riyadh, including building of five-star hotels, PIA privatization and Reko Diq.
The South Asian country can also benefit from the brotherly country by tapping the market sacrificial animals.
Saudi Arabia import two to three million sacrificial animals from Australia, Somalia, Yemen and other countries on the eve of Eidul Adha for local residents and Hajj pilgrims.
If these sacrificial animals are exported from Pakistan with minimum price fixed at Rs50,000, the South Asian country can get foreign exchange of at least Rs100 billion rupees.
In addition to this, Pakistan can also earn a significant annual exchange by exporting halal meat to Saudi Arabia.
To avail this great opportunity, the government with the cooperation of Saudi investors can provide interest-free loans to cattle farmers to raise sacrificial animals of international standards under the supervision of Livestock Department.
The export of the sacrificial animals to Saudi Arabia will not only create employment opportunities in rural areas, but it will also help the government decrease its economic challenges.
