The Saudi businessmen have shown their keen interest to import traditional and world class handmade carpets, apparel and chemical products from Pakistan. A Saudi companies' delegation led by Saud Abdullah met with the Friends of Economic and Business Reforms (FEBR) President Kashif Anwar and discussed investment and trade partnership in details with Pakistani companies. The delegation underlined the need for further enhancing collaboration with the Pakistani industry to promote business between both the Islamic countries.
The head of the delegation said the Pakistan traditional handmade carpets and value-added textile industry offer a huge potential for exports, as a large segment of its industry is well-organized and has achieved international efficiency levels. He said Saudi Arabia has shown a keen interest in CPEC, besides carpets and textile sectors in accordance with their Vision 2030, which aims at diversifying the Saudi economy with energy mega projects to reduce oil dependency. Saud Abdullah said their interaction was aimed at attracting public and private investments in Pakistan from the Kingdom and vice versa. He said the objective of their visit is to study Pakistan's market for partnerships and investment and to strengthen the bilateral trade relations with Pakistan. Their prime interest was the handmade rugs in which they are interested to develop joint ventures.
Kashif Anwar briefed the delegation about his organization and said it has recently been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP which is playing a role as facilitator for local and foreign investors. He gave presentation on various potential sectors for investment in Pakistan particularly in Punjab which includes food and agriculture, pharma, textiles, tourism, retail, e-commerce, logistics and construction.
He appreciated the Prime Minister for his efforts to revive the economy and started inviting foreign investors and buyers and to boost the volume of exports. Arabia is a big deal for Pakistani carpets producers, as Pakistani handmade traditional carpets are at higher demands in international markets, he added.
Pakistan is one of the best countries in terms of investment opportunities and Saudi carpet makers and investors could benefit from the investment opportunities in carpet as well as textile sectors, he added. He also urged the government to bring necessary changes in the export policy as per changing international scenario.