State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik has claimed that certain friendly countries have set aside funds of up to $25 billion for investment in Pakistan.
Speaking in the Geo New program Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath, the minister said that the countries are interested in investing in the mining, agriculture, and information technology (IT) sectors.
The minister spoke at length about the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) that the government has decided to set up with a mandate to frame economic policies that ensure policy predictability, continuity & effective implementation to revive the economy.
Commenting on a question regarding a potential Plan B in case Pakistan’s talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the resumption of the bailout programme do not succeed, the minister said that investment from friendly countries is in fact now the Plan A and not the Plan B.
However, the minister did not comment on the status of the IMF programme and said that only the prime minister or the finance minister can comment on that.
Another pipe dream?
However, despite sounding bullish the minister seemed unsure about the actual value of potential investments and the countries that have ‘set aside’ these funds.
On one occasion the minister said that three countries will invest $25 billion in Pakistan, however, in the very next sentence the minister said ‘two’ countries would invest $25 billion.
What is SIFC?
In a tweet on Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif commented on the SIFC. He said that he has fervently advocated a unified approach to steer the country out of the economic challenges on a path to sustainable growth.
“Employing a whole-of-the-the-government approach, the coalition government has decided to set up a Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) with a mandate to frame economic policies that ensure policy predictability, continuity & effective implementation to revive the economy,” the premier said.
I have fervently advocated a unified approach to steer the country out of the economic challenges on a path to sustainable growth. Employing a whole-of-the-the-government approach, the coalition government has decided to set up a Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC)…
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) June 21, 2023
The prime minister said that attracting investment from friendly countries remains one of the key goals of the SIFC. The immediate task is to increase FDI to $5 billion, he added.
