A senior Pakistani trade and investment official said that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are enhancing economic relations and offering each other significant investment opportunities.
“Pakistan is developing the close political ties it has enjoyed with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for many years into a deeper economic relationship,” said Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Pakistan’s Minister of Investment and Privatisation.
The Pakistani Minister was in Dhahran on Sunday to open the Information Technology Commerce Network (ITCN) pavilion at the city’s annual Computer, Communications and Office Technology Exhibition and Conference at the Dhahran International Exhibition Centre. Twenty Pakistani computer and IT companies are representing ITCN at the week-long exhibition, which 120 international companies will attend.
Abdul Hafeez said that ITCN was developed by Pakistan and Singapore three years ago, in order to facilitate economic dialogue between businesses and governments. “We hope to duplicate the success of the first ITCN exhibition held at the Dhahran Exhibition Centre by further expanding business ties between the private sectors of the Kingdom and Pakistan,” he said.
The Pakistani Minister said that, like Saudi Arabia, his country has undertaken various economic, structural reforms. Pakistan’s stock market is registering its best ever performances, the exchange rate is stable, investors face no restrictions on repatriation of earnings, investment policies have been liberalised, and the pro-market, pro-reform policies of the country augur well for an economic partner like Saudi Arabia, he said.
According to the Minister, Pakistani firms are interested in becoming technology-provider partners for companies operating in the Kingdom’s oil and gas industry, IT and telecommunications businesses, construction companies, schools, hospitals, insurance companies, and banks.
Source: SPA
