ISLAMABAD/Lahore - Prime Minister Imran Khan appears to have convinced Saudi Arabia and UAE to make major investments in Pakistan, during his recent two-day visit to the oil-rich two Gulf countries.
Pakistan has formally invited Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to become the third strategic partner in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Thursday while briefing the media on the premier’s visit.
There was no confirmation from the Saudi side if they have made any concrete commitments, but some news reports claimed the KSA is likely to bring huge investments to the cash-strapped country.
Fawad said a Saudi delegation including the finance and energy ministers will visit Pakistan in the first week of October to lay the foundations for “big financial cooperation” between the two countries.
“So now in CPEC, our third strategic partner and economic partner will be Saudi Arabia and by the grace of God huge investments will come from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan,” he said.
The minister did not give further details of the new “partnership”, but said Saudi Arabia would have direct investments in major projects under the proposal.
Earlier in the morning, ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Central Deputy Secretary General Usman Dar claimed on Twitter claimed they have struck a $10 billion deal with Saudi Arabia.
ARY News, quoting unnamed sources, also claimed that an agreement has been reached under which Pakistan would receive an economic package worth $8-10 billion from Saudi Arabia.
This includes investment in the port city of Gwadar under CPEC, the TV channel said, adding that the Kingdom is also expected to invest the mega oil city project in Gwadar.
Adviser to PM on Commerce and Industry, Abdul Razzaq Dawood talked of much higher figure. “?Saudi Arabia wants to invest 22 billion dollars in CPEC,” he tweeted.
In anther tweet he claimed that UAE was also interested in investing in the CEPC.
The CPEC is an ambitious plan to build energy and transport links connecting the western Chinese region of Xinjiang with the Arabian Sea via Pakistan, as part of Beijing’s broader Belt and Road initiative.
But the opaqueness of CPEC financing has led to concerns as Pakistan faces a looming balance-of-payments crisis, including fears about the country’s ability to repay Chinese loans.
PTI led government is therefore making frantic efforts to get funds from external sources to avert the crisis and bail out the economy. Analysts say the new government will need to take urgent action and will have to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) if it failed to secure other funding.
Fawad Chaudhry in his press conference in Islamabad said that Pakistan’s main interest lies in cooperation with Saudi Arabia on matters of trade and security.
“A high-level coordination committee [on trade and investment matters] has been constituted and it has the complete backing of the Saudi King, His Highness Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, as well as the Crown Prince [Mohammad bin Salman] and PM Khan,” he said.
The information minister announced that high-level delegations from Saudi Arabia as well as the UAE will visit Pakistan to discuss trade and security in October.
The Saudi ministers of treasury and power as well as business leaders will be in the delegation. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will finalise an important economic partnership during this visit, the information minister said.
He said that Saudi Arabia is the first country that Pakistan has invited to become a third partner in CPEC, and the projects that Saudi Arabia will be investing in will be worked out during the Saudi delegation’s visit, scheduled for the first week of October.
“Our strategic cooperation has been revitalised. We have assured the Saudi leadership that we will continue to provide security to their country and provide strategic support wherever needed,” Chaudhry said.
UAE visit
Talking about, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to the United Arab Emirates, the minister said that in Abu Dhabi the Pakistani delegation was received by Crown Prince Muhammad bin Zayed.
“Matters of mutual interest were discussed in detail during the meeting,” Chaudhry said.
“I should mention here that the relations between Pakistan and UAE and Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had been frosty for the past few years, and this visit changed that,” the information minister said.
He added that the complications in the procurement of UAE visas and other matters will be resolved soon as the matters had come under discussion during the visit.
“The foreign office will soon send a proposal to UAE and it is expected that these issues will be resolved for the thousands of Pakistanis that are dwelling in the Emirates,” Chaudhry assured.
The information minister said that UAE would also help Pakistan in many projects, including the provision of fresh water to Karachi. “Delegations from UAE will come to Pakistan in October to discuss these matters,” he said.
“It is important to mention here that His Highness Muhammad bin Zayed has a great standing in GCC and Saudi Arabia, and his support will go a long way for Pakistan,” Chaudhry said.
Mega Oil City
The 80,000-acres mega oil city at Gwadar will be used to transport oil from the Gulf region to China through the Gwadar Port. This will reduce the distance to just seven days from Gwadar to the Chinese border, instead of the current 40 days.
This project was abandoned by the UAE earlier this year after the cost ballooned exponentially, and now Saudi Arabia has reportedly agreed to invest in it.
The incumbent government has prioritised projects under CPEC and has also formed a committee headed by Minister for Planning and Development Khusro Bahtiar to focus on the development of Gwadar.
The cabinet committee in a meeting on Saturday decided to prioritise four special economic zones (SEZs) in Gwadar and the inclusion of social sector development and third country participation in CPEC.