ISLAMABAD, 21 June 2006 — Kuwait has agreed to set up an oil refinery in Pakistan involving a $1.2 billion investment, officials said yesterday.
The two countries signed an agreement after the visiting Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al Sabah met President Pervez Musharraf on Monday.
The refinery will be set up at Port Qasim in the southern city of Karachi, the officials said.
“This will be a huge Kuwaiti investment, drawing $1.2 billion and contributing significantly to bolstering oil-refining facilities in the country,” junior minister for privatization, Omar Ahmed Ghuman was quoted as saying by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.
The Kuwaiti emir, who arrived for a two-day visit on Monday, said his country’s business community was ready to invest in various sectors in Pakistan.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Sheikh Sabah in their talks yesterday resolved to boost bilateral relations with special focus on trade and investment.
A statement issued by the prime minister’s secretariat after the meeting said the two leaders also discussed the regional situation with Aziz emphasizing the need to promote dialogue for a better understanding between the Muslim world and the West.
Aziz said that Islam, which is a religion of peace and teaches moderation and tolerance, is misunderstood in many parts of the world. “The Muslims need to work harder to present Islam in its true perspective,” he added.
Aziz informed Sheikh Sabah about investment and joint venture opportunities available in a host of areas in Pakistan and spoke about reforms introduced during the last seven years that resulted in macroeconomic stability and rapid, strong and sustained economic recovery. “The measures taken by the government have reduced the cost of doing business and ensured transparency in policies and procedures. They also attracted foreign investment and by the end of current fiscal year foreign direct investment is expected to reach $3.5 billion,” the prime minister said.
Denouncing terrorism in “all its forms and manifestations,” Pakistan and Kuwait vowed to further strengthen anti-terror cooperation, a joint statement issued at the end of Sheikh Sabah’s two-day visit said.
“We hope to see more partnerships between the business communities of the two countries in the very near future,” the state-run news agency quoted Sheikh Sabah as telling an investment conference yesterday.
Addressing the conference Sheikh Sabah said, “there is no doubt that the ultimate aim of investment is to get maximum profit and achieve positive returns, but let’s not forget that its aim should also include creating job opportunities for our citizens and enabling them not only to lead comfortable lives for themselves, but also for their children.”
Kuwait also agreed to help develop a tourist resort at Rawal lake near Islamabad. Kuwait is Pakistan’s third largest economic partner after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
