ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday has said Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 provides opportunities for Pakistan to engage with it in realizing Naya Pakistan’s ambitious plan.
In an interview with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Riyadh newspaper published on Sunday, he said there are significant complementarities in the socio-economic fundamentals of the “Naya Pakistan” and the Saudi Vision 2030.
The Prime Minister said both lay emphasis on economic opportunity and diversity, domestic growth, modernization and development, and trade linkages and connectivity.
He said Pakistan can contribute skilled and semi-skilled manpower with Saudi Arabia besides sharing its expertise in other sectors like IT, infrastructure development, and agriculture.
Read more: Pakistan receives $3bn from Saudi Arabia to stabilise foreign exchange
Imran Khan said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have historically enjoyed long-standing fraternal ties, rooted deep in common faith, shared history and mutual support.
He said both countries have stood by each other, through thick and thin, regardless of the change in leadership.
Saudi Package
The Saudi government announced a deposit of $3 billion with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) besides a $1.2 billion deferred oil facility to Pakistan to help its balance of payment issues.
According to Saudi media, the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) in a “generous gesture” announced a deposit of S3 billion with the State Bank of Pakistan to help the government support its foreign currency reserves and counter the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The report said the deposit was in addition to an oil deferred payment facility of $1.2 billion for petroleum products during the year. The announcement would help ease pressure on Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, due to the recent sharp hike in global commodity prices.
