A senior Saudi business and investment delegation is set to arrive in Pakistan tomorrow (Thursday) and is anticipated to sign agreements totaling $2 billion with the federal government.
Led by Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Investment, Khalid Al-Falih, the delegation will visit Pakistan for two days—October 10-11—prior to the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Islamabad later this month.
Officials have informed Geo News that the minister will supervise the signing of several memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and engage in business-to-business meetings.
The delegation includes representatives from various sectors such as construction, engineering, financial services, IT, hospitality, agriculture, food, energy, and petroleum.
During his visit, the Saudi investment minister will address a business forum at a local hotel in Islamabad and hold discussions with senior leaders from Pakistan’s private sector.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated, “Pakistan is expected to sign agreements and MOUs worth $2 billion with Saudi Arabia” across various sectors during this visit.
Additionally, the administration has secured foreign loan commitments amounting to $3.2 billion from international creditors, including a $1.2 billion facility from the Saudi Oil Facility (SOF) for the next 12 months.
These loan pledges include a $1.2 billion facility promised by Saudi Arabia, $1 billion in commercial loans from Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), $600 million from Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), and around $430 million from the Islamic Development Bank’s International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC).
This development follows the approval of a new $7 billion loan program by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board last month, which was subsequently followed by the receipt of the first tranche of $1.03 billion (SDR 760 million).
