Pakistan wants to transform ties with SA into development partnership: Dr. Musadik

ISLAMABAD, Oct 10 (APP/DNA):Federal Minister for Petroleum, Dr. Musadik Malik, said on Thursday that Pakistan aims to transform its longstanding historical and cultural ties with Saudi Arabia (SA) into a partnership focused on growth and development.

Addressing the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia Business Forum, he emphasized the importance of strengthening bilateral relations and Pakistan’s desire to foster closer cooperation with Saudi Arabia to promote mutual economic and developmental progress.

“Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have deep historical ties. Saudi Arabia has been a steadfast ally, and both countries continue to enjoy strong economic and strategic relations,” he added.

He expressed Pakistan’s interest in further developing cooperation in key areas such as food security, economic growth, and energy security.

He said that both nations are prepared to join hands and move forward to present the ongoing global industrial revolution.

He further mentioned that Pakistan seeks to boost exports, diversify its economy, increase remittances, create employment, and enhance productivity.

He said that Pakistan is focusing on improving ease of doing business, shifting from “red tape to red carpet,” and working on reducing poverty through a higher tax-to-GDP ratio.

Referring to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, Dr. Musadik Malik highlighted the Kingdom’s goals of achieving growth, diversification, indigenization, and innovation-driven, energy-intensive development.

He also spoke about Pakistan’s robust strategic and implementation framework, the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), which aims to ensure collective success for both countries. “The synergies between our visions can be realized by leveraging asset-building infrastructure, ensuring food security, and sharing cultures,” he said.

He said that Pakistan requires significant development in roads, railways, and infrastructure, areas where Saudi Arabia can offer substantial support.

He further elaborated on Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which focuses on 13 strategic sectors including aviation, automotive, construction, consumer retail, entertainment, financial services, food and agriculture, mining, real estate, telecom, media and technology, transport, healthcare, and energy. He expressed Pakistan’s interest in collaborating on many of these sectors.

He said that investments in these sectors will be aimed at delivering high returns and creating strategic value, particularly in technology and capability development.

Dr. Musadik Malik thanked the Saudi Arabian delegation for visiting Pakistan, stating, “Our success is your success; together, we will bring about a revolution.”