Pakistan, S Arabia to ink $1bn accord in oil sector: envoy

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are expected to ink an agreement of over US $1 billion in the days ahead in the oil sector, through the Saudi Development Fund, a Saudi news channel said on Wednesday.

“The coming days will witness the signing of an agreement between the Kingdom and Pakistan through the Saudi Development Fund for Development with an increase of one billion dollars for oil derivatives,” Nawaf Al-Maliki, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Pakistan, was quoted as saying by the Saudi Al-Khabaria channel.

The Saudi Press Agency earlier in a report said Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has directed to study augmenting Saudi Arabia’s investments in Pakistan, which have previously been announced on August 25, 2022 and were slated to reach US$10 billion. The SPA said the crown prince also directed the Saudi Development Fund (SDF) to study increasing the amount of the deposit provided by Saudi Arabia in favor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). This has been extended on December 2, 2022 to hit a US$5 billion ceiling, the agency said. The Saudi official news agency said the move strengthened the Kingdom’s position to support the economy of Pakistan and support its people. The report pointed that the move followed communication between the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif. The two countries enjoy strong strategic relations and Saudi Arabia was among the first countries to recognise and support Pakistan when it came into existence in 1947. From the founder of Saudi Arabia to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has always supported Pakistan in different spheres.