PM Khan to address Riyadh conference today to promote investment in Pakistan

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan arrives to attend the opening ceremony of the Future Investment Initiative FII conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 23, 2018. (AFP/File)

• Event will be attended by representatives of top Saudi and Pakistani companies
• Conference organized in connection with PM Khan’s three-day visit to the kingdom

KARACHI: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan will address participants of an investment conference organized by the Pakistani embassy in Riyadh on Monday, in collaboration with the Saudi investment ministry, to promote trade and investment in Pakistan, officials said.
The event is being organized in connection with PM Khan’s three-day official visit to the kingdom. He arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday on the invitation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This is Khan’s second visit to Saudi Arabia this year. He visited the kingdom last in May and signed several agreements. 
Besides attending the launch of Middle East Green Initiative (MGI) Summit in Riyadh, PM Khan will hold meetings with the Saudi leadership and business persons to advance trade and economic relations. 
“The prime minister will address the participants of the investment conference, a major event being held for the first time after COVID-19 outbreak,” Azhar Ali Dahar, who oversees trade and investment affairs at the Embassy of Pakistan in Riyadh, told Arab News. 
“At the sidelines of the investment conference, the visiting Pakistani delegation representing construction, chemicals, energy and food sectors will hold series of B2B (business-to-business) meetings with Saudi investors.” 
The event will be attended by representatives of the top Saudi and Pakistani companies. The official said it would help Pakistani companies working in the kingdom collaborate with Saudi firms. 
Pakistani officials are also planning to hold the first physical meeting of the Saudi-Pakistan Joint Business Council, headed by Fahd Bin Mohammed Al-Bash. They expect the event would lead to the participants signing investment agreements in December this year. 
“After the meeting, they will exchange documents and in December this year, we expect that when the Saudi investors will visit Pakistan, some memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) will be signed,” Dahar said. 
Pakistani officials are also planning to invite Saudi investors to the country so that they could physically observe locations and investment opportunities. 
During the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in 2019, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan had signed seven investment deals worth $21 billion, including the Aramco oil refinery project, Saudi Fund for Pakistan, and food and agriculture projects.