Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) Muhammad Jawad Sohrab Malik recently met the Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Saeed Al Maliki in Islamabad to discuss the enhancement of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
During the meeting, Javad expressed his gratitude for Saudi Arabia’s unwavering support for Pakistan. He thanked the ambassador for confirming that the $2 billion pledged by the kingdom would be deposited into the State Bank account within the next seven working days. Both parties expressed their determination to strengthen bilateral relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
Met Saudi ambassador to Pakistan,H. E. Nawaf bin Said Al-Maliki @AmbassadorNawaf in Islamabad. Pakistan will receive $2 billion deposit in the SBP within a few days from KSA. A further $10 billion pledged by the Saudi Crown Prince will be invested in the Energy & IT sectors over… pic.twitter.com/iE3p66w8bI
— Jawad Sohrab (@JawadSohrab) April 14, 2023
SAPM highlighted the importance of Saudi Arabia’s assistance and said that the $2 billion loan would help Pakistan overcome the current financial crisis.
He explained that this would pave the way for obtaining similar assurances not only from the IMF but also from other friendly countries such as the UAE, Qatar and others, which would lead to a Staff Level Agreement (SLA). It will be a long wait. Unlock multilateral payments with IMF.
Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Maliki emphasized the Kingdom’s commitment to building long-term, sustainable investment transactions between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. He reiterated Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s commitment to increase Saudi Arabia’s investment in Pakistan’s energy and IT sectors to $10 billion in the next few years.
The Saudi ambassador expressed the deep interest of the Saudi government in recruiting more manpower from Pakistan in various sectors of the kingdom during the current and next year. He said that the Saudi labor market is constantly expanding, the main reason being the launch of several mega projects under the Saudi Vision 2030.
Highlighting the diverse business landscape in Pakistan, SAPM said that Pakistan has a lot to offer in both goods and services sectors. It could benefit greatly from exports to the Gulf. He also appreciated the valuable contribution of Saudi FDI in enhancing the country’s economic outlook as well as providing better employment opportunities for the Pakistani workforce in its future development projects.
During the meeting, the two dignitaries held fruitful discussions on further strengthening bilateral business relations, recruiting more manpower from Pakistan and increasing foreign direct investment in potential sectors of the economy. Both Saudi Ambassador and SAPM Jawad Sohrab Malik expressed confidence that their talks would pave the way for a new era of deep and meaningful cooperation between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
