RIYADH: Pakistan is ready to provide land to the Kingdom in order to cultivate rice, Syed Naveed Qamar, minister of finance, investment and privatization, said while inaugurating the Saudi-Pak Investment Conference at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry yesterday.
“Rice is becoming an expensive commodity and this will be a new area where the two countries can cooperate with each other for mutual benefits,” said Qamar. He pointed out that his country had the natural resources and the manpower to produce rice in a profitable manner.
Pakistan is one of the largest rice producing countries, having annual production of more than 5 million tons. Rice occupies 2.5 million hectares that is 10.9 percent of the total cultivated area with production of 5.1 million tons of milled rice . The price of rice in the Kingdom has gone up by 70 percent. He also said that an investment protection agreement would be signed between Pakistan and the Kingdom in the coming months. “Such an agreement will give the necessary cover for the businessmen of the two countries to invest in each other’s countries with necessary precautions. Pakistan’s proximity to Iran and Afghanistan will not in anyway jeopardize the investors activities, we will give them the needed security and protection.”
Saudi investors should visit Pakistan to witness the lucrative opportunities available in the country for foreign investments, he noted . “What you see in the television is not the real Pakistan, you have to visit the country to see for yourselves what the country could offer foreign investors,” the minister told Saudi investors. “Two major projects currently in the pipeline include Al-Tuwairqi Steel Mill in Karachi with an investment of $100 million and construction of Centaurus in the heart of the capital by Pak-Gulf Construction at an estimated investment of around $450 million.
He added that 351 Pakistani businessmen were registered with Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) for various projects in the Kingdom. “We invite Saudis to invest in viable projects in our country,” he said.
Pakistan’s investments in the Kingdom are estimated at SR1.2 billion in 165 industrial and 186 non-industrial projects licensed by SAGIA.
The delegation is also scheduled to meet Saudi businessmen at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry today.
— With additional input from Galal Fakkar
