ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif met with Robert Maersk, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AP Moller-Maersk, a Danish shipping and logistics company, on Tuesday to discuss investment opportunities in Pakistan.
The prime minister welcomed the company’s plan to invest $2 billion in Pakistan, marking a significant boost to the country’s maritime sector.
The two sides discussed ways to enhance collaboration in the maritime sector, with a focus on establishing Pakistan as a viable economic corridor for trade and transportation.
A technical working group will be formed to expedite the process of drafting an agreement on maritime sector cooperation. The working group will present its recommendations within a month.
“Now is the time to remove all obstacles and bring the maritime sector up to global competitive standards,” said PM Shehbaz Sharif. “The investment by A.P. Moller-Maersk will bring about widespread positive change in Pakistan’s maritime sector.”
“Pakistan’s strategic location makes it a key player in regional trade and transportation,” said Robert Maersk. “We are keen on investing in Pakistan’s ports and logistics infrastructure to establish a unique center for maritime trade in the region.”
The meeting was attended by A.P. Moller-Maersk’s CEO Keith Svendsen, Danish Ambassador Jacob Linell, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Minister for Maritime Affairs Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, Prime Minister’s Adviser Tauqir Shah, and senior officials from relevant institutions.
Earlier, the prime minister invited the foreign investors and entrepreneurs to avail of the investment-friendly policies of Pakistan in the minerals exploration sector by bringing in their investment, technology, research and expertise.
Addressing Pakistan’s Minerals Investment Forum held at the Jinnah Convention Center, the prime minister said Pakistan was blessed by Allah Almighty with huge natural resources spanning over the rugged mountains of Balochistan to snow covered mountains of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the pristine tops of Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
He said the valleys of Sindh and plains of Punjab possessed immense natural resources as well worth trillions of dollars value.
“If we are able to harvest these great assets, I can say without any contradiction that Pakistan will say goodbye to the IMF programmes,” he said, acknowledging that the global financial institution had been a great source of support for the country for decades.
PM Shehbaz said that with adequate tapping of the natural resources, they would get rid of these mountains of loans, debts and the foreign borrowed money which had been costing them huge.