(April-19-2024)
Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain, said on Friday that the visit of the high-powered Saudi delegation will open new avenues for cooperation between the two countries.
The credit for this visit and KSA’s huge investment goes to the efforts of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the Army Chief, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that SIFC has removed the obstacles to investment. Still, the enemies of the CPEC will make every effort to stop Saudi investment in Pakistan, which the security agencies should foil.
Speaking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that a controversial political leader’s attempt to make false accusations against Saudi Arabia and damage the ties between the two nations is highly condemnable.
Pakistan has neither divided nor bankrupted, contrary to the wishes of some people; rather, the economy is becoming stable, which has confused them.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the Saudi Foreign Minister’s two-day visit would benefit both countries. We expect Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s visit shortly which will further strengthen bilateral relations.
However, he underlined that political and economic stability are essential for investment, which will not go down well with enemy nations and rejected political parties.
He said that Saudi Arabia is considering investing in agriculture, IT, mining, PIA, and government companies, and in this regard, encouraging progress is possible during the visit of the Saudi Crown Prince.
For the past few years, Saudi Arabia has given more importance to investment than aid, which is good for Pakistan and needs to take advantage of their thinking.
Saudi Arabia wants to invest five to seven billion dollars, but if given a suitable business environment and security, the volume of investment could increase, he added.
India has become the second-largest trading partner of Saudi Arabia as the government has been working on the business environment and politicians and bureaucrats are not allowed to spoil economic matters.
He observed that Indian policymakers are not prioritising politics over the economy, but it is the other way around in Pakistan, which has damaged its economy a lot and resulted in an exodus of investors.
Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in the agricultural sector of many countries, and if it is invested in Pakistan’s agricultural sector, the situation of this sector can not only change, but Pakistan can also become a major exporter of agricultural commodities.
