Pakistan intends to attract Arab investments to the implementation of the TAPI project
Pakistan's new Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has approved 28 priority projects worth billions of dollars to be offered to the Arab countries of the Gulf for investment, including the TAPI gas pipeline project.
This step means that the country intends to give a strong impetus to the promotion of this project, which is always very interested in when it comes to the energy needs of the Pakistani economy.
In early June 2023, in Islamabad, Pakistan and Turkmenistan signed a joint TAPI Accelerated Implementation Plan. Then, speaking at the ceremony, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline is a very important project for ensuring prosperity in the region and it will mark a new era of regional cooperation. "We will make every effort to speed up the implementation of TAPI," Sharif said.
The SIFC approval of the list of priority projects is aimed at attracting investments, primarily from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to implement plans in the field of energy, food and agriculture, and information technology.
To provide legal backing for SIFC's work, the Pakistani parliament this week approved a series of amendments to the statutes and the Investment Board Ordinance. The Electoral Law has also been amended to ensure that these schemes continue to operate during the interim government's term, Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune reported. Another law, the Pakistan Sovereign Wealth Fund, is also under development and will provide equity in SIFC-approved projects for joint ventures with foreign countries.
Pakistan created the SIFC to, in the words of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, promote “synergy between the federal and provincial governments to promote timely decision-making; avoid duplication of effort; increase investor confidence and ensure rapid implementation of projects.”
The inclusion of the TAPI gas pipeline project in the list of projects approved by SIFC means its inclusion in the area of responsibility of the Pakistani Investment Council, which will work on its promotion and implementation as soon as possible, attracting Arab investors.
TAPI is a multi-dimensional initiative, as it will have implications in many areas such as regional and inter-regional integration, increased cooperation, employment growth and infrastructure development in the participating countries.
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