Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) Muhammad Jawad Sohrab Malik recently met with Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Pakistan, in Islamabad to discuss enhancing bilateral collaboration between the two countries.
During the meeting, Jawad expressed his gratitude for Saudi Arabia's unwavering support for Pakistan. He thanked the ambassador for confirming that the deposit of the $2 billion pledged by the Kingdom would take place within the next seven working days in the SBP account. Both parties showed a commitment to strengthening bilateral ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
The SAPM highlighted the significance of Saudi Arabia's assistance and stated that the $2 billion loan would help Pakistan overcome the current financial crisis.
He explained that this would pave the way for securing similar assurances not only from the IMF but also from other friendly countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and others, which would lead to the much-awaited staff-level agreement (SLA) with the IMF and unlock multilateral disbursements.
Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki 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 pledge to increase Saudi Arabian investments in Pakistan's energy and IT sectors to $10 billion within the next few years.
The Saudi envoy expressed keen interest on behalf of the Saudi government in recruiting more manpower from Pakistan during the current and next year for various sectors of the kingdom. He stated that the Saudi labor market is continuing to expand, mainly due to the launch of several mega projects under Saudi Vision 2030.
While highlighting the diverse business landscape in Pakistan, the SAPM expressed that Pakistan has a lot to offer in both the goods and services sectors. It can immensely gain from exports to the Gulf. He commended the Kingdom's commitment to providing enhanced employment opportunities for the Pakistani workforce in its future development ventures, as well as the valuable contributions of Saudi FDI in boosting the country's economic outlook.
During the meeting, both dignitaries engaged in fruitful discussions on the further strengthening of bilateral business relations, recruitment of more workforce from Pakistan, and enhancing FDI in potential sectors of the economy. Both the Saudi Ambassador and SAPM Jawad Sohrab Malik expressed confidence that their discussions would pave the way for a new era of deeper and more meaningful collaboration between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.