Pakistan’s newly appointed energy minister Hammad Azhar has said that it is the perfect time for Saudi Arabia to invest in Pakistan’s oil refining sector.

Talking to Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Pakistan, Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Maliki, in a meeting on Tuesday. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Power and Petroleum, Tabish Gauhar, and the secretary of the Power Division, were also present at the meeting.

“Matters relating to ongoing cooperation between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in the energy sector and upcoming visit of the Prime Minister to Saudi Arabia were discussed during the meeting,” the Pakistani energy ministry said in a statement. “Azhar informed the Saudi Ambassador that time is perfect to invest in the oil refining business in Pakistan since the demand for oil is increasing."

The federal minister said that the government is bringing a policy to facilitate potential investors in this regard.

Gauhar briefed the Saudi ambassador on key features of a new proposed oil refining policy that would provide tax, custom duty and tariff-related concessions for investors for a set period. “Potential investors like Saudi ARMCO can take benefit of the concessions,” said Gauhar.