Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has assured Saudi Arabia’s investors of his government’s blanket support to investment, enabling them and businessmen to accomplish their future projects expeditiously with joint ventures.

At a dinner gathering hosted in honour of a visiting delegation of Saudi Arabia on Monday, the prime minister said that time waited for none and stressed that they should overcome the challenges if they wanted to make use of the opportunity as the Saudi leadership and their leading investors and business people wanted to help Pakistan.

The prime minister reiterated that it was not the government’s job to do business but it had to offer policy frameworks, act as catalysts and remove all the hurdles for speedy achievement of economic targets.

He said that the government had resolved and was committed to removing all the bureaucratic hurdles and red tape in the way of foreign investment.

Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir, federal ministers, Saudi ambassador in Pakistan, members of the delegation and senior officials were present during the event.

The prime minister said that the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) was a very robust and all-encompassing vehicle to attain all those projects in the interest of the people of Pakistan and the Saudi investors, leading to further strengthening of mutual cooperation and partnership.

The SIFC was a model acceptable to the Saudi delegation and they were “fully satisfied” with the existing opportunities, he added.

The prime minister said that from diverse projects, the Saudi investors could earn profits and if they provided them a mechanism free of troubles, bureaucratic hurdles and red tape, then the sky would be the limit.

The prime minister expressed his satisfaction with the solid and tangible progress achieved during the delegation’s interaction with the Pakistani counterparts. He said that “shortly, they would witness solid agreements worth billions of dollars in investment.”

Saudi Assistant Minister for Investment Ibrahim Al Mubarak thanked the prime minister for warmly hosting them.

He said that their visit was a testimony to their deep friendship and strategic partnership which was very important, adding under their leadership’s directives, they moved swiftly to explore partnership with Pakistan.

He also lauded the response of the private sector that interacted with them, adding that the relationship between the two brotherly countries was very strong and that both countries could achieve shared economic objectives together.