Pakistan to seek oil facility from Saudi Arabia at FoP meeting: Tarin

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is to seek oil facility from Saudi Arabia for 100,000 barrels per day on deferred payment of two year during the meeting of Friends of Pakistan due in Tokyo on April 16, said Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin.Tarin, who visited Saudi Arabia on March 7 and held vital meetings with authorities concerned dispelled the impression that the visit could not succeed saying that that Saudi Arabia has advised Pakistan to bring the issue of oil facility at the forum of Friends of Pakistan.“The kingdom has indicated that Saudi Arabia would consider the demand seeking oil facility once it is placed in FoPs meeting,” Tarin said. He said that during the meetings with Saudi authorities, Islamabad asked for increasing the import of Pakistani labour force so that Pakistan would have maximum remittances from Kingdom. “We also invited Saudi Arabia to come forward and invest in Pakistan’s agriculture sector and import agriculture products from their own agriculture farms in Pakistan to ensure their food security.”Pakistan has also sought permission to export animals to cater to eating needs of Saudi Arabia.Regarding urea facility, he said that Saudi Arabia would maintain revolving fund to urea facility for Pakistan. “We also briefed governor central bank of Kingdom on securitisation of workers remittances.”When Pakistan got nuclear, it faced a lot of economic sanctions from USA and all donor countries, but it was Saudi Arabia, which helped Pakistan and extended the oil facility to wriggle the country out of morass. But when Pakistan started experiencing the fast deletion of the foreign reserves, Saudi Arabia refused to extend any oil facility to Pakistan asking Islamabad to first enter the IMF programme only then the Kingdom would consider about the oil facility.But now Saudi Arabia asked Islamabad, even after getting IMF bailout package, to bring the demand particularly with regard to seeking oil facility in the meeting of Friends of Pakistan. However, Pakistan has managed to get oil facility from Iran to provide sustainability in foreign reserves. “Although Pakistan has foreign reserves of over $10 billion mainly because of IMF programme, its sustainability can only be maintained if Pakistan manages more resources, which could ensure interest free inflows,” some independent economic experts said.“This can only be possible by alluring maximum foreign direct investment for which the business and investment friendly climate had to be introduced by the government, which will trigger economic growth in the country too. This would basically help sustain Pakistan’s reserves at a reasonable level,” economists say.Tarin, mentioning the preparation for projects to be marketed in the FoP meeting, said the details will be provided to the ambassadors of the FoP member countries on March 24 so that respective countries have ample time to identify the projects they intend to fund.