ISLAMABAD: Pakistani government officials and investors are expected to continue discussions with a high-level Saudi business delegation on enhancing economic cooperation between the two countries today, Tuesday, on the second day of the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia investment conference. 

A 50-member delegation, led by the Kingdom’s Assistant Minister of Investment Ibrahim Al-Mubarak, arrived in Pakistan on Sunday to attend a two-day investment conference, with representatives of some 30 Saudi firms from the fields of IT, telecom, energy, aviation, construction, mining exploration, agriculture and human resource development.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been working closely in recent weeks to increase bilateral trade and investment deals, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last month reaffirming the Kingdom’s commitment to expedite an investment package of $5 billion.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday night that the two countries would sign “solid agreements” worth billions of dollars, saying his government was ready to remove hurdles in the way of speedy development of projects. 

“That time is coming very fast, when we will, God willing, witness agreements, solid agreements worth billions of dollars. That will set the ball rolling,” Sharif said at a dinner hosted in honor of the visiting Saudi delegation. 

Al-Mubarak described Pakistan as a “strategic” partner and friend of the Kingdom. 

“The relationship with Pakistan has always been strong, but we look for it to be even stronger, and we can do great things together. I am sure we can achieve both countries’ aspirations and visions,” he said. 

The Saudi business delegation’s visit comes on the heels of one by Sharif to Riyadh from Apr. 27-30 to attend a special two-day meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

On the sidelines of the WEF conference, the Pakistani PM met and discussed bilateral investment and economic partnerships with the crown prince and the Saudi ministers of finance, industries, investment, energy, climate, and economy and planning, the adviser of the Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Council and the presidents of the Saudi central bank and Islamic Development Bank.

This was Sharif’s second meeting with the crown prince in a month. Before that, he also met him when he traveled to the Kingdom on April 6-8. The Saudi foreign minister was also in Pakistan last month, a trip during which Pakistan pitched projects worth at least $20 billion to Riyadh, according to the Pakistani foreign ministry.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense, and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as a top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.

Cash-strapped Pakistan desperately requires foreign investment as it tries to navigate an economic crisis that has resulted in a chronic balance of payments crisis for the country. 

ISLAMABAD: Executives from Saudi Arabian mining company Manara Minerals are in Islamabad to continue talks about buying a stake in Pakistan’s Reko Diq gold and copper mine, a Pakistan government document showed on Monday.

The mine, located in Pakistan’s restive southwestern Balochistan province, is considered one of the world’s largest underdeveloped copper-gold areas by global mining company Barrick Gold Corp, which owns the project jointly with Pakistan.

The Manara officials are part of a large delegation of Saudi investors and companies that arrived in Islamabad on Sunday, according to a document seen by Reuters listing officials in the delegation.

The document listed Manara Minerals’ general manager as wanting to “continue the negotiations on the Reko Diq project.”

Barrick has said it will invest up to $10 billion to develop the project.

Manara Minerals, a joint venture between state-owned Saudi miner Ma’aden and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), declined to comment.

Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik and Commerce Minister Jam Kamal said on Monday that the Saudi delegation, representing three dozen investors and companies, will meet Pakistani companies to explore investment in sectors including agriculture, mining, aviation and livestock.

They did not name the Saudi companies.

Manara’s acting CEO Robert Wilt told Reuters in an interview in January that the company was in talks to potentially buy a stake in the Reko Diq mine.

Bloomberg has reported that Manara was initially interested in investing $1 billion to take a minority share in the copper mine.

Malik, the petroleum minister, who was also appointed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as a focal person for Saudi investments, did not respond to a Reuters request for a comment.

The Saudi delegation’s trip to Islamabad follows Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah’s visit to Islamabad last month, when he was briefed by Pakistani authorities on various avenues to invest in the country.

Pakistan, which is trying to navigate a path to economic recovery after securing an IMF bailout, desperately needs foreign investment to help fight a chronic balance of payments crisis.