Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday urged the Saudi companies and entrepreneurs to benefit from Pakistan's strategic location as well huge investment potential in diverse areas of economy including housing and construction for mutual benefit. He particularly mentioned the mega development projects of Ravi City and Central Business District in Lahore and said it was the right time for Saudi investors to benefit from these projects. Imran Khan was addressing the Saudi-Pakistan Investment Forum organized in cooperation with Ministry of Investment. Besides Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid Al-Falih, the forum was also addressed by Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Advisor on Finance Shaukat Tarin and Pakistan Energy Minister Hammad Azhar. The forum was attended by senior representatives of leading Saudi companies and entrepreneurs as well as Pakistani businessmen. Al-Falih, stressed at the forum the sound and strong Saudi-Pakistani relations at all levels, noting that the strategic partnership between the two countries is based on trust and a common vision for the regional and international security. He said that the two sides can enhance efforts to promote and solidify economic and investment relations, taking into account their human capital, talents, natural resources, and distinct geographical locations. Al-Falih underlined the Kingdom's hosting of more than two million Pakistanis working in the Kingdom, as well as the existing trade and investment bonds between the two countries, adding that the forum today provides an opportunity to explore ways to deepen investment cooperation in a way that promotes the development and economic diversification for both sides. The minister also said that the Saudi companies participating in the forum's activities Monday are looking forward to exploring and expanding investment opportunities in Pakistan in the fields of energy, petrochemicals, construction, information and communication technology, finance, manufacturing, logistics, and transportation, among others. "Investment comes at the core of the Kingdom's ambitious 2030 vision to promote growth and economic diversification, achieve sustainability, and provide opportunities for the Saudi young men and women. "Therefore, Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman launched recently the National Investment Strategy, to create conditions and develop the business environment to make investment attractive to local and foreign investors," Al-Falih said. Prime Minister Khan highlighting the close and historic ties between the two nations said that Pakistan-Saudi relations transcend all other relations due to people to people contacts. Whichever government comes to power in Pakistan, it does not affect Pakistan-Saudi relations, he added. The Pakistani prime minister praised the efforts made between the two leaderships to enhance joint investments and expressed his support to Saudi companies to invest in Pakistan. The prime minister stressed the importance of engaging the private sector to fortify the economic relationship. He hoped that the private sectors of the two countries would take full advantage of close and cordial bilateral relations to realize the untapped potential in the fields of trade, business and investment. The prime minister emphasized that Pakistan offered a strong and large consumer market of over 220 million, with an ever-expanding middle class. He highlighted the government of Pakistan's liberal and investor-friendly policies. He underlined that the government was committed to providing an enabling environment to strengthen the investor-friendly dispensation in the country. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi focused on Pakistan's shift from geo-politics to geo-economics; Adviser on Finance highlighted economic resurgence of Pakistan; and Minister for Energy outlined the vast opportunities in the energy, agriculture, livestock and other key sectors. The forum's agenda also included several speeches by several Pakistani officials, in which they discussed the economic environment in Pakistan and the stimulation of Saudi investments to achieve more growth and prosperity per the vision and ambitions of the two countries. Meanwhile, several leading companies in Saudi Arabia shared with the participants their investment capacity and potential to invest inside and outside the Kingdom. The forum was also preceded by the inaugural meeting of the Pakistan-Saudi Business Council. — SG/SPA
