Commerce Minister’s Saudi Arabia visit strengthens bilateral ties

Caretaker Federal Minister for Commerce and Industries, Dr. Gohar Ejaz led a delegation to Saudi Arabia, from 21 to 22 February, with an aim to fortify the already robust bilateral relations between the two countries while fostering new avenues for collaboration and economic growth. According to press statement issued by commerce ministry here Friday, the delegation members included Punjab Investment Minister, S.M. Tanveer and other senior officials from the Ministries of Commerce, Interior, Board of Investment and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry. During the visit, the Minister held bilateral meetings with Minister of Interior, Prince Abdul Aziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud; Minister of Commerce, Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Kassabi and Minister of Investment, Eng. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih. He also met Saudi Finance Minister, Mohammed Al-Jadaan and held a meeting with Secretary General of the Muslim World League, Dr. Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, the statement said adding . Prince Mansour bin Muhammad bin Saad Al-Saud, hosted a dinner in honour of the Minister and his delegation at his residence in Dirriyah, Riyadh. During his bilateral engagements with the Ministers of Commerce and Investment, Dr. Gohar Ejaz was also accompanied by members of the private sector delegation including Arif Habib (Arif Habib Group), Fawad Mukhtar (Fatima Fertilizers), Muhammad Ali Tabba (Lucky Group), Raza Jaffar (Global Sustainability Network), Shahid Soorty (Soorty Enterprises), Bashir Jan Muhammad (Dalda Foods Ltd.), Asim Siddiqui (Pakistan Intermodal Limited), Shahbaz Malik (Hilton Pharma), and Anwar Ghani (Ghani Glass). Dr. Majid Al-Kassabi, Saudi Commerce Minister, underscored the importance of strengthening business and trade relations between the two countries and appreciated the efforts of Dr. Ejaz for bringing an important business delegation to Riyadh. He offered his Ministry’s support for connecting Pakistani businesses with the right Saudi partners and encouraged frequent exchange of visits between the private sector companies from both sides. Eng. Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment of the Kingdom, acknowledged the importance of Business to Business (B2B) interactions for paving the way for long term business relations between the private sectors of both countries. He also suggested a follow-up action plan for taking forward the discussions on key initiatives discussed during the meeting. One of the main highlights of the visit was holding of a Saudi-Pakistan Business Forum in Riyadh on 21 February 2024, which was organized in collaboration with the Saudi Ministry of Commerce, General Authority of Foreign Trade, and the Saudi Federation of Chambers. The focus of the event was to connect Pakistan’s top tier business leadership with their Saudi counterparts. Sectors that were well represented on both sides included petrochemicals, fertilizers and chemicals, food, IT, investments, textile, and real estate. Other private sector delegation included Siddique J. Bhatti (US Apparel), Kamal Nasir Khan (SKB Engineering), Shahid Abdullah (Sapphire) and Mian Shaukat Ahmed (Mian Nazir Sons).