Regional partners

This letter refers to the news report ‘Saudi Minister confirms Manara Minerals looking at investing in Reko Diq mine’ (January 16, 2025). According to the report, the Saudi Arabian mining minister confirmed that the Saudi mining company Manara Minerals was looking at investing in Pakistan’s Reko Diq mine. He further stated that the Saudi Development Fund (SDF) could contribute over $100 million towards the development of Pakistan’s mining infrastructure. Both of these are positive and welcome news as far as Pakistan is concerned, a country that desperately needs foreign investment to dirve its economic development and take it out the IMF cycle.

It should be our stated policy to promote our economic, financial, and technical relationships and investment activities with regional partners. Aside from makin more eocnomic sense, from our point of view, such relationships are also more stable, closer to home, and cost-effective, and should not create unnecessary concerns that lead to tensions with other global powers.

Abbas R Seddiqui

Lahore