Ahmed Mukhtar Naqshbandi
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia has linked the much-needed investment in setting up of oil refinery with political consensus with approval from parliament and cabinet both.
In this regard, the Pakistan officials have recommended domestically the roadmap as follows: on the oil refinery project, as undertaken by the MoS (Minister of State), the Pakistan government should follow up a favorable decision of the Cabinet in support of the conditions set by Aramco. As the decision is made, Pakistan should convey it to the Saudi government in some letter.
The Saudi Minister of Investment had also asked that in order to develop across the mainstream political agreement and ownership of the oil refinery project the matter may also be taken in the Parliament.
However, Pakistani officials locally have suggested that the idea of Parliament approval merits careful consideration.
It was agreed during the meeting with Deputy Minister for Investments Badar al-Badar that Islamabad will also keep sharing project briefs and teasers like developments with the Saudi side for consideration.
Musadik Malik, Minister of State for Petroleum, during his recent visit to Saudi Arabia informed the Aramco Executives and the Saudi Ministers of Investment, Energy and Minerals & Investments that Pakistan’s Premier Shehbaz Sharif has given ‘in-principle’ approval for giving consent on all conditions asked by Aramco to make the project running.
The Minister stressed that the oil refinery project was strategically important for Pakistan and the state was keen to move quickly on it.
The decision to accept Aramco’s terms would be presented before the Cabinet soon and a positive outcome is expected within two weeks time. He suggested that two sides should agree to a high-level committee to complete the details of the project and address any outstanding issues.
Musadik Malik further said that Pakistan had recently introduced a law that permitted the government to sign deals on G-2-G basis without going into any bidding process.
In the mining sector, it consented that a working group would be set-up to devise a roadmap on it. The Vice Minister for Mining Affairs from KSA would head this working group from the Saudi side.
The Saudi Ministers appreciated the commitment shown by Pakistan and said they really looked forward to receiving formal approval from the Pakistan Cabinet. They also told that since Aramco was a publicly listed company, the viability of the project was also important for them too.
