ISLAMABAD, July 11: Pakistan is finalising arrangements to hold two international investment conferences in Jeddah and Riyadh soon to attract investment from Saudi Arabia.

Minister for Finance Syed Naveed Qamar told Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Ali Awadh Asseri, who called on him on Friday, that Islamabad’s planned investment conferences in the kingdom were at an advanced stage, which would enable and apprise investors of privatisation and investment opportunities in Pakistan.

These conferences would also help identify areas of investment in the kingdom for Pakistani business groups.

The finance minister, who is also minister for privatisation and investment, said that the leadership on both sides were getting closer and “our government intended to further strengthen and deepen our brotherly relations by accelerating the existing economic interaction by associating the Saudi investors in the privatisation programme of Pakistan.”

Pakistan had strong bonds in every sphere of life with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, he added.

Saudi envoy Ali Awadh Asseri said that the kingdom and the people of Saudi Arabia believed that the united, prosperous and stable Pakistan was in the interest of the region.

He assured that all out efforts would be made to promote the existing links and translate them into strong economic relations to benefit both the people and the countries.

Pakistan has promising investment environment and the Saudi investors were keen to invest in Pakistan and to broaden the existing economic interaction, he said.

The envoy also discussed other matters of mutual interests and assured that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would continue to support Pakistan for economic stability.

In another meeting, Syed Naveed Qamar asked Auditor General of Pakistan Tanvir Ali Agha to further streamline the accounting procedures through public accounts committees (PACs) to bring in transparency, efficiency and effectiveness.

The finance minister said that the rules and regulations pertaining to the audit would be made more effective and the procedures of the PACs would be changed to this extent that the delays and backlogs could be overcome.

During the meeting, the departments and organisations identified for the purpose include National Accountability Bureau, Higher Education Commission, Privatisation Commission, Trading Corporation of Pakistan, various local governments and other departments.