ISLAMABAD – Leading Islamic country to make huge investments in multiplesectors in Pakistan economy including aviation and Airports.
A number of Qatari companies have shown a keen interest in making hugeinvestments in different promising sectors of the Pakistani economy.
This was revealed by a senior advisor to Pakistan’s Prime Minister in aninterview with a Qatari News Agencylink.The investments may include acquiring equity stakes in the country’s mainairports and power plants.
According to the report, the government of Pakistan has announced plans toprivatise up to 30% equity stakes of several important airports of thecountry, including Karachi,
“As we are privatizing a lot of our assets, we have had meetings with thetop officials of several prominent Qatari companies, including Sheikh Nawafbin Nasser Al Thani (Chairman of Nasser Bin Khaled (NBK) Holding, and topofficials of Qatar Investment Authority, in this regard. We are looking atour airports selling equity of it,” said Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari,Minister of State, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on OverseasPakistanis & HRD.
He further stated that, “We are working for a JV venture with The RooseveltHotel in New York. We are also looking to develop and enhance our tourismand hospitality sector with the Icon group coming to Pakistan and openinghotels and resorts.”
We have just privatized two of our energy terminals (including gas-firedpower plants) and Qatar’s Nebras Power is probably bidding for it. Inaddition, there are a lot of projects in the pipeline that we are workingto implement together with Qatar.
While, commenting on the airport modernizing program, he said that likemany other developing countries, Pakistan’s government has also decided tocommercialize nearly 20 to 30 percent of the country’s main airports.
Read Top Stories
“We have got an extremely positive response from the Qatari side. In fact,they have been very positive, and we have been a little bit slow incompleting the paper works. So we are trying to move fast, and expectingQatar to bid for them as well,” he said.
In addition tourism, energy and aviation, the commerce ministry is workingto expand and deepen the bilateral collaboration in many other sectors,including the export of food, meat, livestock, and other agriculturalproducts.
The report further stated that currently nearly 150,000 Pakistanis live andwork in Qatar and remit about $400 million annually (2018) to thecash-strapped Pakistani economy. Pakistan has been working to secure moreQatari visas to provide doctors, engineers and other skilled manpower.
Commenting on the cooperation in the field of shariah-compliant banking andfinancial services, the minister noted that there is a “natural cohesion”in this sector. “We are coming up with several remittance models which aregoing to be sharia-compliant. We are also coming up with various Islamicproducts such as financing cars, houses, and other credit benefits,especially for the overseas Pakistanis,” he added.
On collaboration with regard to 2022 FIFA World Cup, he said that talks arealready going on with the top officials of the Qatar’s Supreme Committeefor Delivery & Legacy (SC), and soon both sides are going to signagreements to establish cooperation, including for providing securitypersonnel, fast speed drivers, traffic management staff, and also footballsfor the mega event.
In his concluding remarks, the minister reiterated: “The bilateral tiesbetween Qatar and Pakistan are better than they have ever been for at leasta last decade or so. The leaders from both countries have a brotherlyrelationship, to say the least. We are here to expedite bilateralcooperation, which is deepening and expanding in several areas, includingtourism, construction, civil aviation, and energy.”
