A Saudi delegation comprising 600 to 700 delegates — including 40 private investors visited the Federal Capital and signed 7 memorandum of understanding (MoU) worth $20 billion. PM Imran Khan and the Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman oversaw the signing of the agreements. The investment deals with Saudi Arabia mark a partial departure from Pakistan’s decades-old policy of begging from Saudi Arabia in difficult economic times. “Today we signed MoUs. The amount of that kind of investment is USD 20 billion. It is big for phase one and definitely it (Saudi investment in Pakistan) will grow every month, every year in bigger numbers and it will be beneficial for both the countries,” the crown prince said.
Details of the different MoUs signed are as follows
1. The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), set up to channel bilateral aid to developing countries, will finance the supply of crude oil and petroleum products to Pakistan. Saudi Arabia is expected to invest in Re-Gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) plants to the tune of $4 billion and $1 billion in petrochemical projects over a period of two to three years. The SFD will further make investments of over $1 billion.
2. Future cooperation between the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) and Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organisation. PSQCA is a state body that advises that government on promoting industrial efficiency to improve the competitiveness of Pakistani products in the international markets.
3. Saudi Arabia will assist Pakistan in the production of electricity. The Saudi-based ACWA Power will bankroll renewable energy projects worth $2 billion.
4. The Kingdom will establish an integrated refinery petrochemical plant. Saudi Arabia will set up a $10 billion oil refinery in Gwadar, Balochistan. The capacity of the proposed oil refinery will be between 250,000-300,000 bpd (11-13 million tons per annum), according to Radio Pakistan. Further, KSA will study investment opportunities in the refining and petrochemical sectors of Pakistan.
5. An MoU was signed in the field of developing renewable energy projects
6. An MoU was signed in the field of mineral and mine resources from Balochistan and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The total amount for the project will be $2 billion.
7. Cooperation and promotion of sports between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
