RIYADH: Pakistan Investors Forum (PIF), a Riyadh-based nonprofit business organization, has emerged as a major commercial entity that has successfully sought to encourage and promote investments in Pakistan. Besides adherence to the highest quality standards and business ethics, the PIF members have the mandate to transfer capital to Pakistan for industrial ventures, encourage investment remittances and bring in the latest and most sophisticated technology to the South Asian nation.
The PIF has planned to hold several programs this year that will help to boost Saudi and Gulf investments in Pakistan, while they will also facilitate the Pakistani investors in Saudi Arabia to establish and streamline their own business activities. The PIF has finalized plans to hold meetings with top Saudi bankers and the officials of the chambers of commerce and Industry in Saudi Arabia. The forum had already been helping Saudi and Pakistani business delegations in the past.
The forum has also planned to hold a seminar on GOSI (General Organization for Social Insurance) with an aim to promote awareness about GOSI. The PIF, which has been in contact with the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), aims to interact more closely with SAGIA on a regular basis in order to understand and disseminate information about the changes in business and investment rules and regulations. It is also in the process of setting up a PIF Investor Support Office.
The forum, which is chaired by Chaudhary Nazeer Ahmad (MNA), has 14 executive members. Khalid M. Choudhry is the current president, while Shamshad Ali Siddiqi serves as general secretary; Tariq M. Soomro as information secretary; and Chaudhary Bashir as finance secretary. Other prominent executive members are: Sikandar Khan Bajwa, Muhammed Asgher Qureshi, Ahsan Rashid, Amjad Siddiqi, Arif Mirza, Ghulam Safdar, Babar Ali Shah, Zubair Munir Khan and Khalid M. Raja.
The PIF, under the visionary leadership of these Pakistani businessmen set up some four years ago, has emerged as a major business networking platform as of now that will go a long way in boosting business relations between the Kingdom and Pakistan. The PIF also seeks to promote cooperation among Pakistani Investors in Saudi Arabia and support them to contribute more in the economic growth of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.