Islamabad, September 04, 2021 (PPI-OT):The Centre for Afghanistan, Middle East and Africa (CAMEA) at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) organized a webinar on Saudi Vision 2030: Opportunities for Pakistan. The distinguished speakers included: Ambassador Ali Awad Alasiri, former Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Pakistan, Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the OIC, Senator Sehar Kamran, Patron in Chief, Centre for Pakistan and Gulf Studies-CPGS, Dr. Muhammad Azam Roomi, Professor of Entrepreneurship at Prince Mohammed Bin Salman College (MBSC) of Business and Entrepreneurship, King Abdullah Economic City. Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Director General ISSI, and Ambassador Khalid Mahmood, Chairman BOG, ISSI, also took part in the discussion.
During her opening remarks, Ms. Amina Khan, Director CAMEA said that Vision 2030 is an all-inclusive document, which follows principles of sustainable development and caters to the future needs of the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia has identified diversification of the economy as a leading factor to achieve its goals of boosting non-oil sectors and exports. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have always shared close ties, primarily based on religious affinity. They also share decades-long strategic ties and have on numerous occasions supported each other both diplomatically and economically. Hence, Pakistan is well placed to benefit from Saudi economic reforms and the opportunities provided by Vision 2030.
Ambassador Aizaz in his welcome remarks said that the whole region is buzzing with the theme of geo-economics. Saudi Vision 2030 is presenting a new face of the Kingdom, one where the Kingdom is more focused on economic development. Saudi Arabia is opening up for the world and the Saudi society is becoming more vibrant as compared to the past. Moreover, its economy is being diversified by the introduction of new avenues for economic growth rather than just relying on oil exports. Pakistan should benefit from this shift of Saudi Arabia towards geo-economics. At the moment, the Saudi economy is thriving and Pakistan would do well to explore ways to benefit from it, he said.
Ambassador Ali Awad Alasiri said that Saudi Vision 2030 is a big achievement for the Kingdom. He also said that both Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have seen a very big transformation in their relationship under the dynamic leadership of Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman and Prime Minister Imran Khan. Vision 2030 offers a number of economic opportunities to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to further flourish their relations. There are a number of economic opportunities which are emerging for Pakistan. Case in point being how Pakistan can send its technicians to provide support in the mega project – NEOM city.
Moreover, both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia can sign a number of agreements in areas like agriculture, health, labour etc. He suggested that the chambers of commerce in Pakistan must be more proactive to market the products of Pakistan in Saudi Arabia and at the same time both nations should lower trade barriers for each other as well as improve communication. Furthermore, both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia should think of legal and technical methods to ensure that both parties are safe and have an equal share in the advantages of bilateral trade. It is high time that the relationship of love and affection between the two countries is translated into concrete economic activity. At the moment economic relations are limited but Pakistan should not squander the opportunity of actively benefiting from the Saudi Vision 2030, he concluded.
Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh was optimistic that the relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia would flourish under Vision 2030. He said that both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia already have a concrete base in their relations which stems from strong historical and political relations as well as strong security and economic ties. Both countries should pay more attention to the problems in public and private sectors on both sides and try to identify the fault lines which impede the economic activity between the two states.
These problems, he said, must be overcome with effective measures. If done in an efficient manner, this will open windows of new opportunities for economic growth. The investment absorption capacity of Pakistan is huge especially under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Besides the 20 billion dollars Saudi Arabia has already pledged for investments, the Kingdom can also increase focus on other avenues for investments, he said.
Senator Sehar Kamran, said that Saudi Vision 2030 is a comprehensive document. The Vision aims to reduce the dependency of the Kingdom on oil and diversify its economy and aims to build the future of Saudi Arabia around three themes: a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation. She went on to underline the principles behind the vision and objectives aimed to achieve under the Vision. She said that Pakistan has always been a trusted partner of Saudi Arabia.
Both countries can benefit from their bilateral relations in a number of areas. Saudi Arabia can benefit from the vast experience of Pakistan in the IT sector. In this regard, it can get help from the Pakistani technicians in developing the IT sector, especially in NEOM city. She also highlighted that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia can cooperate in the production of military equipment. She further highlighted that there is vast potential in research and development, academic collaborations, student exchange programs and in the health and agriculture sector. Pakistan can also provide sports goods to Saudi Arabia. Senator Kamran proposed the establishment of a “Saudi-Pak friendship Centre” on the model of “Pak-China friendship Centre” which might prove beneficial for deepening bilateral relations especially economic ties.
Dr. Muhammad Azam Roomi, was of the view that Prince Mohammed Bin Salman College (MBSC) of Business and Entrepreneurship, King Abdullah Economic City, itself is a tool to achieve the objective of Saudi Vision 2030. He was of the view that Saudi Vision offers a number of opportunities to Pakistan which it can exploit. He said that over the period of time Saudi Arabia has evolved and it has learnt to benefit from effective entrepreneurship.
In this regard, the Kingdom has come up with a solution revolving around the principle of effectuation. He also highlighted that Pakistan should not only focus on how Saudi Arabia can help Pakistan but should go beyond this. Pakistan should not only focus on the opportunities arising out of Saudi vision 2030, but should learn and try to emulate the Saudi Vision 2030 model as it is one of the best visions in the world at the moment.
Ambassador Khalid Mahmood concluded the session by saying that Saudi Vision 2030 has emerged with a number of new economic opportunities for the bilateral economic ties of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. While highlighting some of the opportunities under Vision 2030 he said that the Vision also emphasizes on sports and since Pakistan is a leading sports goods manufacturer, Pakistan can benefit from the emerging Saudi market.
He also highlighted that CPEC has also brought in new opportunities for Pakistan to attract investments from Saudi Arabia. Collaboration in defence production, labour market, agriculture, climate change and IT are some of the sectors where the two nations can also work together. Ambassador Khalid highlighted that Pakistan needs to take practical measures instead of just setting up councils and holding meetings. He also suggested the deployment of special envoys to focus and explore opportunities for Pakistan which are emerging from the programs such as Saudi Vision 2030.
For more information, contact:
Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI)
Sector F-5/2, Islamabad – 44000, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-9202481
Fax: +92-51-9204658
E-mail: strategy@issi.org.pk
Website: http://issi.org.pk/