PM invites US agency DFC to invest in Pakistan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) CEO Benjamin Black in Washington D.C. on the sidelines of the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace.

Highlighting Pakistan’s fast-improving macroeconomic fundamentals, structural reforms and attractive investment climate, the prime minister invited him to enhance financing for projects in energy, mines and minerals, agriculture and IT sectors.

Black was accompanied by DFC’s Head of Investments Conor Coleman and the senior leadership of the agency. The Pakistani side included Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi.

PM Shehbaz appreciated the expanding economic partnership between Pakistan and the United States. He recognised DFC’s crucial role in catalysing joint ventures between private enterprises of the two countries.

He appreciated DFC’s portfolio of over $1 billion and pointed to the synergies between the economic priorities of both countries, which presented mutually-rewarding opportunities for enhanced B2B engagement.

The prime minister also invited DFC to participate in the upcoming Minerals Conference scheduled to be held in Islamabad in April this year.

Black briefed the prime minister on the agency’s strategic initiatives, priorities and project pipeline in Pakistan, and evinced interest in enhancing DFC’s footprint in Pakistan.

He highlighted that DFC was firmly poised to support economic development in partner countries. PM Shehbaz invited Black to visit Pakistan at his earliest convenience to explore mutually beneficial investment opportunities in Pakistan in various sectors of shared interest.