'Oman-Pakistan economic relations strong, growing'

Muscat: Pakistan’s top diplomatic representative to Oman has highlighted the strong and ever growing economic and political ties between the two nations.
Speaking on the occasion of Pakistan’s 71st Independence Day, Ali Javed, Ambassador of Pakistan to the Sultanate of Oman, praised the performance of the Pak-Oman Investment Company (POIC).
“The POIC was established in 2001 with joint investment of $100mn during His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said’s visit to Pakistan. With the assets having reached almost $600mn by early 2018 due to excellent performance, is a testament to the continuation of historic trade and economic relations between the two nations,” said the Ambassador.
“The trajectory of political, parliamentary and military exchanges in 2017-18 and prospective exchanges set until the first quarter of 2019, present bright prospects,” he added.
“We are establishing further frameworks for bilateral cooperation and have achieved another milestone in upgrading co-chairs for the Joint Commission to the plane of foreign ministers.”
The ambassador also took the opportunity to wish Pakistani residents in Oman.
“It is my privilege to congratulate 300,000 fellow Pakistanis today, which marks the culmination of a great human, political, legal and democratic struggle for our sovereignty and statehood. Let us pay tribute to our ‘founding fathers’ to whom we owe our freedom,” said Javed.
Going forward, with new elections and the stated economic reform agenda of the incoming government, the domestic and overseas Pakistani community is upbeat about the economic potential of the country in the coming days.
“Institutional reforms and investment in social development can prove to be the bedrock of the new economic paradigm. It can be the catalyst for sustainable economic growth in the next decade. It can especially provide attractive business opportunities to overseas Pakistanis who are keen to invest in their homeland,” said Noaman Abdul Majid, Country Manager, POIC.
He shed light on the bilateral economic potential and said, “Both Pakistan and Oman offer immense potential for economic growth, as well as social development and can leverage on each other’s expertise in various sectors.”
“Pak-Oman will continue to be the bridge in this regard. POIC has a strong focus on infrastructure development and SME financing. We have been maintaining our office in Muscat since 2005,” said Majid.
“The company is one of the seven joint venture (JV) development financial institutions which the Government of Pakistan has established with its strategic partners including China, Saudi Arabia, and Brunei, to name a few. Pak-Oman is one of the most profitable such JV for the last many years,” he added.