On Monday, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb underscored the potential for boosting exports to Saudi Arabia, especially in the skilled labor sector, as the kingdom’s Vision 2030 objectives drive up demand for skilled workers.
In an interview with Arab News during the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, the finance minister noted that this aligns with Riyadh’s expanding workforce needs as it progresses toward its ambitious Vision 2030 goals.
“Saudi Arabia’s influence in regional economic transformation is growing, with Pakistan recognizing the kingdom’s progress under Vision 2030 as a valuable model,” he added.
The finance minister emphasized that the kingdom’s leadership in economic reforms provides important lessons for Pakistan as it embarks on its own structural changes.
“Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been longstanding partners, one of the strongest partnerships we have,” Aurangzeb added.
“As we go through our own structural reforms at this point in time, on the back of the macroeconomic stability we’ve achieved, there’s a lot to learn from Vision 2030,” the minister said.
He also mentioned that the kingdom is well ahead of its Vision 2030 targets, “so there’s so much to learn in Pakistan from our partners in Saudi Arabia.”
The finance minister highlighted the growing Saudi investments in Pakistan, particularly in the business-to-business sector.
He pointed to recent developments, such as Saudi Aramco’s entry into the downstream petroleum industry and ongoing talks regarding government-to-government (G2G) agreements.
“We’ve already seen a few investments coming through from Saudi Arabia in the Business-to-Business (B2B) space, and we’ve just seen Aramco enter downstream, so these are all very good investments,” Aurangzeb said.
“There are several G2G transactions underway at this time, to be announced later in the year,” he added.
“Meanwhile, we remain grateful for the support we’ve received from Saudi Arabia, especially with respect to our IMF program,” the finance minister said, noting that the conference serves as an important multilateral platform to discuss economic resilience and cooperation among emerging economies.
