ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, has said that memoranda of understanding (MoUs) signed with Saudi Arabia, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and China are now being implemented to boost economic cooperation and attract investment, state-run media reported on Sunday.
In recent months, Pakistan has finalized a series of agreements aimed at strengthening trade, enhancing economic partnerships, and encouraging bilateral investment with China, the US, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the Central Asian republics, as the country works to stabilize an economy weakened by a prolonged balance of payments crisis.
Last year, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed 34 MoUs worth $2.8 billion, of which seven have since been converted into agreements valued at $560 million. The UAE, Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner after China and the US, has pledged $10 billion in future investments across priority sectors. Islamabad and Washington have also recently concluded a trade agreement introducing a 19 percent tariff on a wide range of Pakistani exports — the lowest in South Asia.
“Various MoUs are being implemented with the US, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and China, which will enhance economic cooperation and investment,” Radio Pakistan quoted Munir as saying during a meeting with members of the Pakistani community in the US, where he is currently on an official visit.
Munir traveled to the US last week to attend the retirement ceremony of the outgoing US Central Command chief and meet senior American political and military leaders. This is his second trip to the US in two months. During his previous visit in June, he held an unprecedented lunch meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House.
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Describing his latest trip as introducing “a new dimension” to US-Pakistan relations, Munir said the objective of such visits was to place ties on a constructive, sustainable, and positive track. He expressed Pakistan’s “deep gratitude” to Trump, crediting his “strategic leadership” with not only averting an India-Pakistan war but also preventing multiple other global conflicts — a reference to the countries’ latest confrontation in May.
Commenting on the Middle East crisis, Munir described the situation in Gaza as “one of the worst human tragedies,” warning of its serious global and regional repercussions.