Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has extended an invitation to prospective investors in Gulf countries and Germany to invest in the province.
The CM said Sindh was a province rich in resources and well-connected to the world via sea routes, which made it an ideal location for trade and commerce. He added that foreign investors should expect good returns on their investment in the province.
Shah stated this on Friday during his meetings with German Consul General Rudiger Lotz, Consul General of Qatar Nayef Shahein and Consul General of Oman Eng Sami Abdullah Al Khanjari at the CM House. He said the Sindh government was planning to conduct a roadshow in Gulf countries to attract investment in the province.
Oman
The Omani consul general congratulated the CM for being elected as the provincial chief executive consecutively for the third time. Shah appreciated the Omani diplomat for speaking Urdu fluently.
During their meeting, the CM emphasised the importance of strengthening the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Oman and suggested that the two countries should work together to enhance trade, commerce and welfare of their people.
He said Oman imported various commodities from far-flung countries and called for exploring avenues to boost trade between Pakistan and Oman that were geographically close to each other.
The CM invited Omani investors to visit Karachi and meet him and officials of the investment department to discuss investment opportunities and possible joint ventures. He also informed the Omani consul general that President Asif Zardari had proposed the construction of a bridge between Gwadar and Oman to improve trade, commerce, and people-to-people contact.
Qatar
The CM and Qatari consul general discussed investment, trade and commerce in their meeting. Shah said Qatar was a brother Muslim country and it had a strong relationship with Pakistan.
Shah invited investors of Qatar to invest in Sindh. “We have a separate investment department which would facilitate them and share the list of the sectors where investment opportunities are ample,” he said. The Qatari diplomat assured the CM that he would bring a trade delegation so that investors could explore the business opportunities.
Germany
Discussing investment opportunities in Sindh, the CM informed the German consul general that his government was working with the World Bank on implementing the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ regime in the province.
“The German companies working in Karachi have harvested good returns and I would like to invite German investors to come over and invest in Sindh,” he said. The German consul general said a delegation of German investors would visit Karachi in June. He added that their meetings with the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Sindh investment department were being scheduled so that investment opportunities could be discussed.
Keti Bunder
The Sindh CM and Federal Minister for Ports & Shipping Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh have agreed to make the Korangi Fish Harbour properly functional and start work to establish a port at Keti Bunder for the export of Thar coal and other commodities.
This was agreed upon in a meeting between them at the CM House on Friday. They discussed the land issues between the Sindh government and Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and agreed to resolve them amicably so that foreign investment could be attracted.
The CM directed Sindh Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah to hold a meeting with the federal secretary for ports & shipping to exchange notes on the issues, including the land dispute, so that they could be resolved.
The federal minister said the Karachi Port had become overburdened and Sindh needed another port to export coal and other commodities. To this, the CM said that he had included Keti Bunder port in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects but when CPEC projects came to a halt during the previous government, the project was put on the back burner.
Shaikh told Shah he would discuss the matter with the prime minister. The CM said the coal reserves in Thar were so valuable that Pakistan’s indigenous coal could be exported. He added that a road network from Keti Bunder to the Motorway and National Highway was being developed which would also be used to transport important items upcountry.
It was pointed out that the Karachi Fish Harbour had been crowded with fishing boats and it could not accommodate more boats. Shah said he was working to make the Korangi harbour fully functional so that the load on the Karachi Fish Harbour could be reduced.
The CM said fishing boats would be given facilities at the Korangi harbour and an auction hall would be developed there so that the fishermen could auction their fish catch instantly.
Shah urged the federal ports minister to launch some projects for the welfare and rehabilitation of fishermen in the coastal belt of the province. Sheikh assured the CM that he would work on his proposal.
The CM said that the federal minister was a leading industrialist from Karachi and he must help him develop the industrial sector of the city and bring in more investment.
The federal minister assured Shah that he would work with him for the development of the industrial sector in Karachi, Thatta and Hyderabad.