It was quite appreciable to note that through the determined, committed, sincerest and collaborative efforts of the political and military leadership, Pakistan was gradually moving on an upward trajectory economically and also overcoming the chronic problem of isolation internationally. As these efforts were continuing objectively, foreign heads of states and governments as well as foreign dignitaries are visiting Pakistan and the country is hosting internationally important moots, the recently held Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit being the latest instance in this regard.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has just paid another very fruitful and purposeful visit to Saudi Arabia to attend the Future Investment Initiative and more importantly meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman in Riyadh.
Addressing the plenary session of Future Investment Initiative (FII) ‘s 8th edition, the PM called for global efforts in Artificial Intelligence , Health and Education to overcome the contemporary challenges, Pakistan was in the process of laying the foundation of knowledge-based economy driven by innovation in three pivotal domains, Artificial Intelligence, Education and Health and invited the participants of the moot ,who had come from all over the world , to invest in Pakistan, bringing their expertise and creativity to his country. He said that no nation could overcome today’s challenges alone and no single country could harness the potential of tomorrow without the support of others, Pakistan as on a transformative journey of resilience, sacrifice and a relentless pursuit of stability and growth. He further pointedly stated that Artificial Intelligence (AI) was more than a trend, it was a force revolutionizing economic societies and industries, at this critical juncture Pakistan was not just embracing AI but committed to excelling it, our mission in this regard clearly was to encourage the young minds to redefining the boundaries of AI, training skilled engineers and data scientists minds as the backbone of Pakistan’s AI growth and equipping their workforce to harness the power of AI across the industries.
The theme of the FII was ” Infinite Horizons; Investing Today, Shaping Tomorrow” and focused on global investments aimed at addressing major issues such as artificial intelligence, robotics, education, energy, space, finance, healthcare and sustainability. The PM was addressing the moot for the second time during his second tenure, first one was in October 2022 during his first tenure.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman (MBS) is a very sincere friend of Pakistan and its people and in furtherance of Saudi Arabia’s long standing history of helping this country in all difficult times, he was always quite willing to extend all possible help and assistance to Pakistan as and when it needed and required.
During his important one -on- one meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince on the sideline of the 8th edition of Future Investment Initiative, they discussed plans to further expand economic collaboration across various sectors including trade, investment and the broader economy, between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. They also underscored the long standing and deepening religious and cultural relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia reflecting the strengthening relationship between the visiting Pakistani leader and Saudi Crown Prince. Highlighting the significance and importance of the FII Conference, the PM praised the Crown Prince’s visionary leadership pointingly mentioning that Saudi Vision 2030 closely aligned with Pakistan’s key policy objectives.. The PM also availed the opportunity and extended his best wishes for the health and well-being of King Salman bin Abdulaziz and expressed gratitude to the Crown Prince for his country’s support regarding international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The two day visit of the PM to Saudi Arabia as such turned out to be quite successful despite being very hectic and rather short. Thus the PM has added another feather in his cap as hot pursuer of attracting more and more foreign investment in Pakistan which was now following the policy of Trade Not Aid. It all augurs well for sustainable economic development in the country and gradually overcoming the huge foreign debts in a determined and committed manner.
The ongoing situation in Gaza and persisting Israeli aggression also figured during the meeting and both the leaders expressed their deep concern in this regard and stressed the dire need for international interventions for restoring peace in the region at the earliest possible.
This was not all. A very welcome announcement regarding increase in Saudi Arabia’s investment raising the total to $ 2.8 billion with a very recent increase of $ 600 million and signing of more Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) in different sectors. This good announcement was made by Saudi Investment Minister Sheikh Khalid Bin Abdul Aziz Al Faleh in the presence of PM Shehbaz Sharif. he also said that the number of MoUs between the two countries has also risen to 34 which quite obviously signified a further deepening of economic ties between the two nations adding that five of these investment projects have already commenced, focusing on key sectors such as healthcare and energy.
This very appreciable announcement was a follow up of a series of meetings and an earlier visit only last month by a Saudi delegation of investors and businessmen which attended the business conference and afterwards signed as many as 27 MoUs worth $ 2.2 billion. Furthermore, the Saudi investors have also taken significant steps by acquiring land and assets to establish integrated medical complexes in Pakistan signifying good development in the healthcare sector.
The two day visit of the PM to Saudi Arabia as such turned out to be quite successful despite being very hectic and rather short. Thus the PM has added another feather in his cap as hot pursuer of attracting more and more foreign investment in Pakistan which was now following the policy of Trade Not Aid. It all augurs well for sustainable economic development in the country and gradually overcoming the huge foreign debts in a determined and committed manner.
