ISLAMABAD: High-level delegations from Saudi Arabia’s energy sector, including officials from the energy ministry and foreign ministry as well as private players, are expected in Islamabad next month to discuss investments in oil and gas fields as well as other sectors, top Pakistani officials said on Wednesday.
“Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are going to have many bilateral exchanges of delegations in the coming months,” Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on the Middle East, Tahir Ashrafi, told Arab News. “One of the main delegations, which is expected in January, is from the energy sector, including officials from the Saudi energy ministry as well as the private sector.”
“After this visit another delegation from the tourism ministry will also visit Pakistan,” Ashrafi added.
The Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan, Nawaf bin Saeed Al Maliki, also confirmed that a high-level Saudi delegation would visit Islamabad soon.
“There are high delegations coming to Pakistan from Saudi Arabia and subsequently a Pakistani delegation will go to the Kingdom,” he said. “A delegation from the Saudi energy ministry as well as the foreign ministry are expected very soon,” the ambassador added, saying the energy sector delegation would consist of high officials of the energy ministry and representatives of private companies.
Al Al-Maliki said the bilateral visits would strengthen relations between the two countries.
Referring to the expected visits, Pakistan’s minister for energy Omar Ayub Khan told Arab News that different investment projects with Saudi Arabia in the fields of oil and energy were in the final stages and would be formally announced very soon.
“We are also negotiating with Saudi Arabia’s ARAMCO to kickstart final work on a very large oil refinery of around $9 billion,” Khan said. “Pakistan is the biggest market of 220 million people; therefore, we are talking with many Gulf countries for investment in oil and energy fields.”
