Saudi views Pakistan as one of top destinations for investment: deputy minister

RIYADH: Saudi Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade Abdulrahman Alharbi on Tuesday said that Saudi Arabia views Pakistan as one of top destinations for making investments.

The statement was made at a meeting of Pak-Saudi Joint Working Group on Trade and Investment in Riyadh on Tuesday.

Commerce Secretary Mohammad Younus Dagha headed Pakistan delegation at the two-day talks. Additional Secretary BOI Saleem Ranjha and Pakistan's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Khan Hasham Bin Saddique along with technical team were also part of the Pakistani side.

The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen bilateral trade and investment ties in line with the understandings developed during the meeting of Pak-Saudi Joint Ministerial Commission held in Islamabad last month.

During the meeting, the Saudi side acknowledged and appreciated Pakistan's position as a preferred destination for investment in view of its macroeconomic indicators, growth projects, strategic location and overall investment regime.

Saudi officials showed their interest in investing in Pakistan in many sectors including petrochemicals, dairy, livestock, mining and others. The meeting agreed that Saudi Arabia will send a technical team to Pakistan to review the sector-specific opportunities and projects.

The two sides agreed to activate Pak-Saudi Joint Business Council within two months and that Pakistan will hold a single-country exhibition in Saudi Arabia in 2018.

In order to further boost trade relations, the forum agreed to mutually facilitate the trade by overcoming issues like visa fees, registration of companies, shipment delays and mutual recognition of standards.

Dagha appreciated the progress made on various important matters at the meeting and assured support to Saudi investors in various sectors.

The joint working group will reconvene in Islamabad in April 2018 to discuss sector-specific initiatives.