Page 6 - DMEA Week 14 2022

DMEA POLICY & SECURITY DMEA

Pakistan-Saudi ties crucial

in advancing infrastructure

MIDDLE EAST IN a recent meeting at the Tashkent Interna- be revealed economic zones.
tional Investment Forum in Uzbekistan, Paki- As of 2020, bilateral trade between Islamabad
stani and Saudi officials met to discuss long and Riyadh stood at just under $2.2bn, although
anticipated investment proposals by the King- fields including agriculture, renewable energy
dom in Pakistan’s oil infrastructure, in addition investment and petrochemical production are
to other areas as part of improving economic ties now thought to be likely areas for renewed Saudi
between the two nations. investment.
Working under the umbrella of the National The BOI chairman, Azfar Ashan, has since
Companies Promotion Program (NCPP), Saudi indicated that measures are now underway
Minister for Investment, Khalid Al-Falih along within Pakistan to permit such investments.
with Pakistan’s Board of Investment (BOI) chair, In addition to the BOI statement, Saudi
and minister of state, Azfar Ashan discussed a Elite Group president Mohammed Alhamed
range of investment opportunities with the BOI in speaking to the US based online newspaper
announcing to the media later that “(It) was Al-Monitor added that “Saudi Arabia and Paki-
agreed that shovel-ready projects, including the stan are historically close allies, and Riyadh’s
expansion project of Pakistan Refinery will be investment comes to make Pakistan’s economic
evaluated by the Saudi government.” development stable and strong.”
Dating to the early 1960s, the Pakistan Refin- Alhamed went on to add that “(The) Saudi
ery in Karachi has remained largely unchanged investments in Pakistan today are an example
in the decades since. of a power, security and economic partnership
Back in 2019, eyeing investment in Pakistan, which will lead to shared prosperity, regional sta-
the Saudi government initially released plans bility and mutual respect based on long term-in-
aimed at the construction of a US$10 billion vestment, strategic and social ties.”
refinery near the port of Gwadar in the disputed In part the result of years of regional ten-
Balochistan region in the south west of the sions, however, Saudi-Pakistan ties since the
country. turn of the century have been strained, not least
No official reasoning was given for a later because of Riyadh’s $27bn bilateral trade bal-
de-facto suspension of the project although one ance with neighbouring India. This has led one
report by Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned researcher at the Center for Applied Research in
enterprise, highlighted the costs required to Partnership with the Orient in Bonn, Germany,
build a connecting 600km long pipeline to Paki- Sebastian Sons telling Al-Monitor that “The cur-
stan’s largest city Karachi as a significant obstruc- rent thaw in relations between Saudi Arabia and
tion to the plans moving ahead. Pakistan is based on the general calculation of
As a result of the Tashkent talks though, it is the kingdom to promote closer cooperation with
now understood that Pakistan will receive help regional partners amid rising tensions with the
on a smaller scale across multiple areas of infra- US. Against this backdrop, Pakistan still serves
structure development as part of widespread as a key partner, traditional ally, and a potential
advancements to the nation’s energy and related security provider in times of regional stability.”
industries set-up. As Sons says, this means the Saudi govern-
Work on the aging Pakistan Refinery in ment needs to “follow a balancing act in order to
Karachi is just one project being highlighted preserve close ties with both India and Pakistan.
alongside reciprocal deals allowing investors In this regard, the current investments need to
from Saudi Arabia to enjoy incentives in yet to be considered as part of the balancing efforts.”™

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 14 07•April•2022