Pakistan and China have signed a number of contracts, especially in the energy sector, worth $45 billion, said Dr Musadik Malik, spokesman for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, here on Tuesday. Speaking at a news conference, he said that China has given a facility to Pakistan under which any investor who wants to make investment in Pakistan can obtain loans from China Exim Bank. The Chinese bank has earmarked $45 billion for this purpose, he said.
He said the government is making serious efforts towards signing a similar kind of contract with a bank in the UK to bring global investment in Pakistan. He said that around 200 to 300 investors, who make billions of dollars investment in various countries, participated in an investment conference organized by Pakistan in Germany. It was aimed at boosting investor confidence, he added.
Dr Malik said: "The recent positive developments, including $45 billion agreements with China, likely approval of $1.1 billion IMF tranche and the Prime Minister's successful visit to Germany, indicated enhanced confidence of international investors and multilateral agencies in Pakistan's leadership and economy."
Malik said the confidence of international investors regarding the country's economy and political situation has improved. "The government is making serious efforts towards restoring confidence of international investors after political uncertainty in the country," he said. He said that Pakistan will overcome power crises gradually. "Power generation from solar and wind would start in two years while coal and hydro-electricity projects would be completed in three to five years, respectively," he said.
Malik said that Germany was one of the big trading partners of Pakistan; therefore, the government wanted to improve trade with the largest economy of the Europe. "Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will visit the UK today (Wednesday) to attend an energy roundtable organized by the British government aimed to inform investors about energy challenges and energy opportunities in Pakistan," he said. He said the Prime Minister will also talk about clean coal facility, renewable energy and shale gas. An investors' conference has also been organized in Germany, he said. To a question about the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, he said that the day international sanctions on Iran were lifted, work on the Iran-Pakistan pipeline will resume. He said the flexibility shown by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan is a good omen. This will help lower political temperatures, according to him.
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