Talks with Saudis on Reko Diq stake soon
Talks with Saudi Arabia on the sale of stakes in the multibillion-dollar Reko Diq gold and copper mine will begin soon, the head of the Planning Commission said on Tuesday, as a share-price evaluation of the project is now complete. Talking to the media, Dr Jehanzeb Khan stressed that the $70 billion foreign direct investment anticipated through the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a high-level civil-military collaborative body, is based on real offers from friendly countries. However, he stressed that the inflows would now depend on the emerging Gaza crisis and the ability of the authorities to provide an enabling environment. “This ($70bn investment) was not an abstract number,” said Dr Khan, who is also the secretary to the SIFC’s apex committee. This was the first official confirmation of the targeted $70bn investment from friendly countries under the SIFC, although there had previously been unattributed reports about the ambitious figure. Dr Khan, speaking at the SIFC’s first media briefing since its inception in June, revealed Saudi Arabia’s proactive investment interests in Pakistan. These were initially discussed in the context of Islamabad’s efforts to increase foreign exchange inflows as part of negotiations with the IMF. Saudi Arabia has expressed its intention to set up a $25 billion fund to channel investment in Pakistan. He said the Saudis would invest through that wealth fund and their advisers were now looking into possible investments.