Islamabad-Pakistan is set to sign agreements worth $2 billion with Saudi Arabia later this month, announced Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday. The deals will be inked during the visit of a Saudi delegation, led by Minister for Investment Khalid Bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, from October 9 to 11. This visit is significant as it comes before the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting, hosted by Pakistan from October 15-16.
The Saudi delegation, led by Minister for Investment Khalid Bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, is set to visit Pakistan from Oct 9 to 11.
It is expected to include representatives from both government agencies and the private sector, signalling a broadening of Pakistan-Saudi economic partnerships. During the federal cabinet meeting, the prime minister listed several positive developments such as China, UAE and Saudi helping the country successfully clinch the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme by providing timely confirmation of necessary financing assurances.
Additionally, he said that the Malaysian prime minister “had a very successful visit” and that a Saudi delegation was about to visit the country.
Regarding PTI clashes with the police in Islamabad during the SCO moot, the prime minister stressed that this was being done to “stay relevant” because the economy was improving.
“This is the same steps being taken again as the IMF programme has been started successfully, inflation has decreased and exports are increasing,” he said, adding that their “homegrown growth programme is being sabotaged”. In August, it was reported that Pakistan had requested Saudi Arabia to increase its lending by about $1.5 billion from its existing $5bn portfolio to help bridge the external financing gap needed for the IMF’s 37-month bailout package.
All three friendly bilateral partners — Saudi Arabia, China and the UAE — had confirmed to the IMF their $12bn loan rollovers to Pakistan.
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