Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has invited Qatari investors to “explore new avenues of collaboration” under the government’s Special Investment Facilitation Council framework, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Friday.

The SIFC is body that was set up in 2023 with the objective to assist with foreign investments.

PM Shehbaz invited Qatari investments under its framework during a meeting with Qatar’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani in Islamabad today.

According to Radio Pakistan, PM Shehbaz underscored during the meeting the importance of enhancing bilateral trade and investment cooperation highlighted opportunities in this connection in energy, agriculture, food security, information technology, tourism and infrastructure development sectors.

“The prime minister expressed satisfaction over the positive trajectory of Pakistan-Qatar relations, anchored in shared faith, values, and mutual respect,” the report said.

It added that the premier also appreciated Qatar’s role as an “important partner and an influential regional mediator”.

Recently, Qatar, along with Turkiye, mediated talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which led to a ceasefire between the two sides after days of hostilities on the border.

During today’s meeting, PM Shehbaz conveyed to the visiting minister Islamabad’s “deep appreciation for Qatar’s consistent support on regional and global issues” and reiterated Pakistan’s desire to strengthen collaboration at regional and multilateral forums.

For his part, Faisal Al Thani “reaffirmed Qatar’s commitment to further deepen economic engagement with Pakistan”, the Radio Pakistan report said.

He also conveyed “warm greetings from the Qatari leadership” to PM Shehbaz and both sides agreed to continue close coordination to “translate shared understandings into tangible outcomes, including greater facilitation for business-to-business linkages and investment projects”.

Faisal Al Thani had arrived in Pakistan to co-chair the sixth session of the Pakistan-Qatar Joint Ministe­rial Commission (JMC) on Econo­mic, Trade and Technical Coopera­tion.

The three-day session concluded yesterday, during which Pakistan and Qatar signed a protocol to formalise commitments across multiple sectors, including a pledge of $3 billion in investment in Pakistan through the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) or other designated investment vehicles.

According to an official statement, the protocol commits both sides to implementing the emir of Qatar’s earlier pledge to invest $3bn in Pakistan. A key focus under this arrangement is strengthening direct engagement between the QIA and Pakistan’s SIFC to streamline investment processes and create an enabling environment for Qatari investors.

The SIFC will serve as the leading platform for facilitating investment in priority sectors.

During his meeting with PM Shehbaz, Faisal Al Thani noted that the sixth session of the JMC “provided an important platform to review existing cooperation and identify new initiatives to advance mutually beneficial partnerships”.