Achi news desk-
Plans to bring Saudi investment to Pakistan are clearly on the fast track. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has visited the kingdom twice in the past month, visiting the crown prince on both occasions, while the Saudi foreign minister visited Islamabad in April with other senior officials. The most recent in this series of high-level exchanges was a two-day investment conference held in the federal capital, which ended on Tuesday. The Saudi side was represented by the assistant minister for investment, who brought a group of 50 people representing 30 Saudi enterprises. Speaking at a reception for Arab tourists on Monday, Mr Sharif said bilateral economic transactions “worth billions of dollars” were almost complete. When he met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in early April, Riyadh was rumored to be planning to invest $5 billion in Pakistan. During the recently concluded conference, the Saudi assistant minister said that his country sees Pakistan as a “high priority economic and business investment opportunity”.
Although $5 billion in Saudi money would not turn around Pakistan’s economy, such investments will send a message to the world that the country is open for business. For far too long, we have relied on foreign and multilateral loans and financial aid to keep the ship afloat, despite the fact that attracting foreign investment and increasing exports is a much more sustainable strategy for economic growth. Saudi Arabia appears to be an obvious candidate to lead this effort to attract foreign funding. Bilateral ties are long and strong, having withstood volatility. For decades, Pakistan has outsourced labor to the kingdom while benefiting from the foreign exchange these workers send home. Moreover, the House of Sharif has close ties with the House of Saud, which can be used for the benefit of both states. However, as previously stated in these columns, investment from Riyadh or any other foreign partner will be most beneficial to Pakistan when there is internal political concord and policy transparency. According to some rumours, the Saudi crown prince is expected to come to Pakistan in the coming days. The state should use the visit to confirm previously agreed agreements so that work on the projects can begin in earnest.
