ISLAMABAD – Saudi Arabia on Tuesday agreed to place a deposit of $3 billionwith Pakistan for one year as balance of payment support, besides providinga one-year deferred payment facility of up to $ 3 billion per year for theimport of oil for three years.The decisions came following Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to SaudiArabia and his successful talks with the Saudi leadership.Saudi Arabia also confirmed its interest in the oil refinery project inPakistan, the PM Office said here in a statement.
Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman agreed to the Prime Minister’s suggestionto reduce visa fee for Pakistani workers, which is a significant steptowards enhancing the country’s workforce in Saudi Arabia, as well asfacilitating travel of people from both the countriesThe Prime Minister was accompanied by Minister for Foreign Affairs MakhdoomShah Mehmood Qureshi, Minister for Finance Asad Umar, Minister forInformation Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Advisor to the Prime Minister onCommerce Abdul Razaq Dawood and Chairman Board of Investment Haroon Sharif.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Saudi Arabia has resulted insignificant understandings between the two countries. He visited SaudiArabia at the invitation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, KingSalman bin Abdulaziz, to participate in the Future Investment InitiativeConference on October 22-23.
During the visit, Prime Minister had detailed bilateral discussions withKing Salman and the Crown Prince.Far-reaching decisions on bilateral economic and financial cooperation werealso reached, which included:
– A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Finance MinisterAsad Umer and Saudi Finance Minister Muhammad Abdullah Al-Jadaan underwhich Saudi Arabia would place a deposit of USD three billion for a periodof one year as balance of payment support.
It was agreed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would also provide aone-year deferred payment facility for import of oil, up to USD threebillion and this arrangement would be in place for three years, which wouldbe reviewed thereafter.– The earlier visit of the Saudi delegation had evaluated the possibilityof investing in a petroleum refinery in Pakistan. Saudi Arabia confirmedits interest in this project, and an MoU will be signed after obtainingcabinet approval.– Saudi Arabia expressed interest in development of mineral resources inPakistan. For this purpose, the Federal Government and the Government ofBalochistan will consult, following which a delegation of the Kingdom willbe invited to visit Pakistan.
Today (October 23), after the inauguration of the FII conference, aPakistan-specific session was organized, in which the Prime Ministerunderlined the country’s priorities towards optimizing the economy andattracting foreign investment.
Stressing the focus of his government on human resource development, thePrime Minister highlighted the potential of Pakistani youth, and identifiedlucrative investment opportunities in the tourism sector, minerals, coaland gas exploration and information technology.He mentioned the successes of Pakistan in the fight against terrorism,which had brought peace and stability to the country. He also elaboratedthe significance of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), including theinvestment opportunities in the special economic zones.The Prime Minister also took several questions from the audience comprisinghundreds of business entrepreneurs.The Prime Minister had arrived in Madina Munawara on Monday, where he wasreceived by Prince Faisal bin Salman, Governor of Madina.
After Ziarat-e-Khas at Masjid-e-Nabwi (Peace Be Upon Him), the PrimeMinister proceeded to Riyadh, where he was received by Prince Faisal binBandar bin Abdul Aziz, Governor of Riyadh.