Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday that his government was working on a scheme to bring agricultural investment from countries in the middle east to Pakistan.

Speaking at a press conference regarding the newly-signed agreement with the International Monetary Fund, Shehbaz reiterated the foreign loans could not be made the basis for a country’s progress.

Shehbaz said that there was nothing productive in the desert near Bahawalpur except solar energy plants that produce 500-600 megawatts of electricity. He added that if reclaimed, irrigated and made fit for agriculture, the place could become a very fertile.

He added that gulf countries will be offered to invest in agriculture in Pakistan by bringing their own technology while providing jobs to Pakistani citizens as well.

He also quoted celebrated economist and former Finance Minister Mahbub ul Haq to say that Pakistan could have been a ‘green basket’ for the Gulf countries.

He added that while Dubai was importing flowers from the Hague halfway across the globe, Pakistan was exporting nothing despite sitting at a distance of three days by sea and 1.5 hours by air.

He said that although it would take time, back-to-back agreements could be signed with the countries in the middle east which would bring billions of dolalrs in investments. He also said that upto four million jobs could be created through such schemes.