ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s Minister for Investment Sheikh Khalid Bin Abdul Aziz Al Faleh confirmed that the 27 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) signed during his visit to Pakistan in October had increased to 34, with five of them already operational.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) event in Riyadh, the Saudi investment minister, alongside a Pakistani delegation led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, said, “When we came to Pakistan we concluded, in three days, 27 MOUs at 2.2 billion dollars and I mentioned at that time during various events that this was only the beginning.
“And to prove that, here we are — two or three weeks later — and I’d like to announce that the number has increased from 27 MOUs and agreements to 34.”On October 10, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had signed 27 MOUs worth $2.2 billion in various sectors during a high-level Saudi delegation’s visit to Islamabad.
Regarding the increase in value, the minister said that funding now increased to $2.8bn, adding that many of them had not been assigned value due to them as the government was “still trying to determine exactly how much the valuation is”.
“I think better news yet, that I’m happy to share with you, your government and the people, is that of the 27 we concluded, five are already working operational, finance-funded and creating value for the companies that have concluded them for Pakistan [and] for Saudi Arabia,” he added.
The investment minister said that some of the agreements had already resulted in “exports from Pakistan especially in agriculture”, adding that he would leave the five agreements to be announced in terms of their operation by the companies themselves.
These agreements, he said, covered important sectors such as healthcare facilities where Saudi investors had “already acquired land and assets and would be building an integrated medical complex in Pakistan”.During the press conference, PM Shehbaz expressed his gratitude to the investment minister, the Crown Prince, and Prime Minister Muhammed bin Salman, adding that they had a “very productive meeting.”
“The meetings last night have been really reassuring and on the MOUs signed a few weeks ago in Islamabad — the ink hasn’t dried and implementation has started,” he said.
