Arrival of Saudi delegation and Saudi investment

A high-level delegation of Saudi Arabia headed by the Saudi Foreign Minister has returned after completing a two-day visit. The delegation included all the ministers and senior officials of the Saudi government for Saudi investment. It is being said that there is no example of such a high-level delegation of Saudi Arabia arriving in Pakistan before this.

This visit is a reflection of the fact that Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia was successful. Because this visit of the Saudi delegation has become possible as a result of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia and the Prime Minister’s meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.

It is being said that matters have been finalized for the Saudi investment of nine billion dollars in Pakistan in this visit and Saudi Arabia is ready to invest nine billion dollars in Pakistan in the first phase. If this becomes possible, it is no small achievement. Rather, it will help a lot in solving the economic crisis of Pakistan. Pakistani economy will get a big jump which in turn will help the economy to move.

The talk of Saudi investment in Pakistan has been going on for many years, but practically nothing has been possible. The talk of Saudi oil refinery has also been going on ever since the Saudi crown prince visited Pakistan during the reign of Imran Khan. On this occasion, there was talk of setting up an oil refinery in Gwadar, but it was not possible. After that, the Imran Khan government damaged relations with the Saudi government and all the investments sank.

You may all remember that Imran Khan planned to form an Islamic bloc against the Arabs along with Turkey and Malaysia on the sidelines of the United Nations meeting, which displeased Saudi Arabia. Turkey and Malaysia jointly convened the first meeting of this bloc. But Pakistan could not even attend its meeting.

Because then the Arabs threatened to end the economic relations with Pakistan completely and Pakistan could not afford it. As a result of this failed diplomacy, on the one hand, Pakistan was ridiculed on the international level, and on the other hand, the Arabs also became angry. You may all remember that the dollars kept by Saudi Arabia in the State Bank of Pakistan were immediately demanded back and had to be returned to Pakistan.

The purpose of writing this sad incident is to remind that Pakistan has lost many opportunities of Saudi investment in the past. The consequences of which we are suffering today. Our neighbor India has benefited greatly from Saudi investment opportunities and Saudi investment is still visible there today. It will not be wrong to say that we lost these opportunities due to our mistakes. Then the political instability in Pakistan has also been a big obstacle in the way of foreign investment.

Ever since the practice of sit-ins began, the political struggle in Pakistan reached such a climax that no one here understood. Similarly, the outside world also did not understand anything about Pakistan. The world was watching our fight and our fight was the main cause of our destruction. The ongoing political fight in Pakistan and overthrowing each other’s government also divided the world from us. Who will invest in a house where there is a fight?

Today, the political stability in Pakistan is visible to the world. All attempts to dispute the results of the general elections have failed. The world has accepted the results of the general elections of Pakistan. The world seems to be ready to go along with the new Shahbaz Sharif government of Pakistan.

The visit of the Saudi delegation is a practical proof of this. The chapter of Saudi investment, which was closed for many years, has now been opened again and the investment is being talked about by Saudi Arabia, not Pakistan. At the end of Shahbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia, not Pakistan, but Saudi Arabia. An investment of seven billion dollars was announced. Investment is still being talked about by Saudi Arabia.

By the way, even in the caretaker government, a lot of efforts were made by Pakistan to get Saudi investment. But the caretaker government did not get the recognition that the current government has got. We have to admit that despite the full support of the establishment, the world has not spoken with the caretaker government. That is why elections were inevitable. Today, when a strong government has emerged in Pakistan after the elections, the world is talking with this government.

I think that the present government has achieved the achievements in the economic field in the first one and a half month itself, which has created a positive hope. You can see how much the Pakistan Stock Exchange has been going up for a month. The Pakistan Stock Exchange reached its highest level in history even before the arrival of the Saudi delegation.

The IMF delegation has completed its third installment visit to Pakistan and has announced the release of the third installment. Pakistan’s finance minister has reached America for the new loan agreement. Positive news is also coming from there. However, if the affairs of Pakistan and the IMF were not well, the affairs of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia would not have progressed. The cost of electricity has also decreased.

You all may say that I am not talking about the increase in petrol prices. It is true that the price of petrol has increased. As the price of petrol increases, inflation increases. But petrol has become expensive globally, which has also made it expensive in Pakistan. Petrol is no longer under the control of the government of Pakistan. Global conditions are such that petrol is becoming expensive. As petrol will be cheaper in the global market, it will also become cheaper in Pakistan.

However, expensive petrol cannot be justified. But still the achievements on other economic fronts cannot be ignored just because of the increase in the price of petrol. If political stability in Pakistan continues like this, not only Saudi investment but also investment from other countries will come to Pakistan. But if the fight inside starts again, then nothing can happen. That is why the contract economy is emphasized. So that economic decisions can be kept away from political battles.