FinMin Aurangzeb stresses potential for boosting Saudi exports

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday underscored the potential for boosting exports to Saudi Arabia, especially in the skilled labour sector.

In an interview with Arab News during the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, the finance minister noted that this aligns with the Riyadh expanding workforce needs as it progresses toward its ambitious Vision 2030 objectives.

“Saudi Arabia’s influence in regional economic transformation is expanding, with Pakistan acknowledging the kingdom’s progress under Vision 2030 as a valuable model,” he added.

The finance minister emphasised that the kingdom’s leadership in economic reforms offers important lessons for Pakistan as it embarks on its own structural changes.

“Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been longstanding partners, one of the strongest partnerships that we have,” Aurangzeb added.

“As we go through our own structural reforms at this point in time, on the back of the macroeconomic stability that we have achieved, there’s a lot to learn from Vision 2030,” the minister said.

He also stated that the kingdom is well ahead of its targets of Vision 2030, “so there’s so much to learn in Pakistan from our partners in Saudi Arabia”.

The finance minister also highlighted the growing Saudi investments in Pakistan, particularly in the business-to-business sector.

He pointed to recent developments such as Saudi Aramco’s foray into the downstream petroleum industry and ongoing talks concerning government-to-government (G2G) agreements.

“We’ve already had a few investments coming through from Saudi Arabia in the Business to Business (B2B) space, and then of course, we have just seen Aramco coming into downstream, so these are all very, very good investments,” Aurangzeb said.

“There are a number of G2G transactions which are underway at this point in time to be announced later in the year,” he added.

“Meanwhile, we remain grateful for the support that we have received from Saudi Arabia, especially with respect to our IMF programme,” he added and noted that the conference serves as an important multilateral platform to discuss economic resilience and cooperation among emerging economies.