PM Shehbaz invites investment in Pakistan's trillion-dollar natural resources

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday invited the foreign investors and entrepreneurs to avail of the investment-friendly policies of Pakistan in the minerals exploration sector by bringing in their investment, technology, research and expertise.

Addressing Pakistan’s Minerals Investment Forum held at the Jinnah Convention Center, the prime minister said Pakistan was blessed by Allah Almighty with huge natural resources spanning over the rugged mountains of Balochistan to snow covered mountains of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the pristine tops of Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

He said the valleys of Sindh and plains of Punjab possessed immense natural resources as well worth trillions of dollars value.

“If we are able to harvest these great assets, I can say without any contradiction that Pakistan will say goodbye to the IMF programmes,” he said, acknowledging that the global financial institution had been a great source of support for the country for decades.

The prime minister said that with adequate tapping of the natural resources, they would get rid of these mountains of loans, debts and the foreign borrowed money which had been costing them huge.

He urged the foreign investors to convert the existing opportunities into reality as they were vying without borrowing foreign loans, solid partnerships which would result into win-win partnership.

The event held under the auspices of Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), more than 300 delegates from across the globe were attending the forum. Governors, Chief Ministers, Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir, ministers, parliamentarians, representatives of various local and foreign companies and diplomats were present on the occasion.

Terming the existing potential in the minerals sector beneficial for all, the prime minister said that Pakistan was blessed with fertile land and top of it, its people were brave and ready to accept all challenges as ‘they can turn sand into gold’.

He expressed the confidence that if they put their acts together and geared towards the set goals, they could get the beneficial dividends and also assured complete support from the federal government, provinces, institutions and the Pakistan army in this regard.

The prime minister also welcomed all the companies from the Europe, US, China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkiye etc; to invest in country’s minerals sector.

He informed that relevant provincial governments had been working to provide conducive environment to the foreign investors as Sindh province had the largest coal deposits which could feed cement plants and other industrial units thus saving Pakistan’s valuable foreign reserves spent on importing coals.

Punjab had discovered the iron ores deposits in Chiniot while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, AJK and Gilgit Baltistan had the enormous potential in this sector, he added.

The prime minister said in the past, the foreign companies were issued permission for shipping out raw material from Pakistan but as per government’s policy, they would not be allowed to ship out raw material out of Pakistan.

He emphasized that as a part of their integral policy, the foreign investors were encouraged to set up downstream industries to convert the raw material into finished form and then export it which would be a win-win situation for all.

From Pakistan’s national perspective, it was the duty of his government to work in this regard, he said.

He declared that now this policy would be a cardinal principle of the international partnerships.

The prime minister said moreover, exporting raw material had more freight cost as compared to the finished goods.

He further observed that the investors would bring in their technology over period of time and train the youth in Pakistan.

He further underscored that through the joint partnerships, the foreign investors would train the local youth with modern skills so that they could become entrepreneurs themselves.

Welcoming the minerals companies from the KSA, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, USA, China, Britain the prime minister urged them to consider training Pakistani youth by establishing vocational centers, which was also an important area for consideration adding this encompassing policy would bear tremendous dividends for all.

He further said that the vast rather arid areas in different parts of the country would be soon converted into industrial hubs, reassuring that all the governments, he himself as the country’s chief executive along with the dynamic army chief, and the international partners with their collaborative efforts would turn Pakistan into a developed and prosperous country in the world.

The prime minister also expressed his gratitude and appreciation to Minister of Energy Ali Pervaiz Malik, his team and all other relevant departments, besides the valuable support from the Army Chief and his colleagues; and the international partners for arranging and participating in the successful event.

He opined that the event was not only successful but also very productive besides, it gained the confidence of entrepreneurs sitting there, across Pakistan and the entire world.

The prime minister also appreciated the commitment of Mark Bristow, President and CEO of Barrick Gold, to Reko Diq project and said that he was impressed with his acumen and steadfastness.

Under his commitment, the project stalled in the last 20 years, had witnessed considerable progress which would be a lesson for others, he added.

The prime minister, chief of army staff and the chief ministers also witnessed signing of different MoUs and agreements in the minerals sector.