A high-level Saudi business delegation, led by Prince Mansour bin Mohammad Al Saud, Chairman of the Saudi-Pakistan Joint Business Council, arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday to strengthen bilateral trade and investment cooperation, the Foreign Office confirmed.
The visit comes soon after Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a landmark defence agreement pledging a joint response to aggression and follows Islamabad’s formation of an 18-member committee to oversee economic negotiations with the Kingdom.
During the visit, Prince Mansour and his delegation will meet Pakistan’s political and business leadership, engage with government officials, chambers of commerce, and major business groups, and sign a series of agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) aimed at expanding trade and investment.
The Foreign Office said the discussions would focus on investment facilitation and collaboration in key sectors aligned with Saudi Vision 2030 and Pakistan’s investment-led growth agenda. The visit also highlights the countries’ deep-rooted ties built on shared faith, strategic cooperation, and mutual economic interests.
According to the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), the Saudi delegation will visit Karachi and Lahore for business-to-business (B2B) engagements and explore joint ventures across sectors such as energy, mining, petrochemicals, technology, and tourism.
Analysts say the visit could revive the long-delayed $10 billion Greenfield coastal refinery project in Gwadar and attract new investment in Pakistan’s Reko Diq copper mine and rare earth minerals. There is also growing potential for Saudi investment in Pakistan’s AI and data infrastructure, given the country’s young tech workforce.
While experts have expressed optimism, they also caution about execution challenges, noting that previous MoUs have faced delays due to policy uncertainty and IMF-related restrictions. However, officials view this visit as a turning point in deepening Saudi-Pakistan economic cooperation under Vision 2030.
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