A 3-day international conference of the World Economic Forum (WEF) held from May 18-20 at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, provided an opportunity to the world leaders and investors to discuss, on the sidelines, issues of bilateral trade and investment..

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani held a number of bilateral meetings with President Bush, President Hosni Mubarak, Prime Minister of Jordan and agriculture minister of Saudi Arabia.

Mr Gilani’s meeting with Saudi agriculture minister was considered significant in the context of attracting Arab investors in the development of agriculture in Pakistan. Saudi minister indicated his country’s interest in substantial investment in the agriculture sector. He sought land on lease with the prime minister’s assurances to oblige.

Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Finance and Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, who also attended the WEF, when contacted said that Saudi co-operation extended in the field of agriculture would help Pakistan to become a net exporter of wheat.

Analysts believe that Saudi investment would be export-oriented to cater to the agricultural needs of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia suffers from food insecurity

Pakistan itself suffers from food insecurity and is making a serious attempt to attract Arab investment in agriculture. Federal Minister for Investment Naveed Qamar told the Middle East-Pakistan Forum in Dubai last month that his government would facilitate investments in agriculture and also remove snags if any. Arab investment can help realise the tremendous potential that agriculture offers to meet domestic needs and to cater to the needs of food deficit Middle East. The UAE is reported to have acquired some agricultural land in Pakistan recently.

Pakistan has received significant amount of Arab investment particularly for development of Islamic banking and insurance and setting up of investment companies. All Sharia compliant loans are linked to commercial transactions – purchase of goods and services -- and cannot be diverted towards speculative trading as is the practice in borrowings from convention banks.

Analysts say that joint ventures can be set up for development of modern agro-based industries whose products can be exported to the Middle East.

While returning from Cairo, the prime minister informed the reporters on board his special plane that he planned to set up a Land Bank to offer loans to individuals and companies to help build low-cost houses. The government wants to build immediately one million such houses for the middle and lower-middle income groups.

Ms Hina Rabbani Khar said that Free Trade Agreement (FTA) would be signed with Jordan for which both sides were working out modalities. Both sides had also agreed to set up a business council to improve their trade and economic relations. Similarly, she said, strategic relations would be established with Egypt to forge greater cooperation in energy and infrastructure sectors.

Mr Arthur Bayhan, Vice-President of The Competitiveness Institute (TCI), which is working in collaboration with the WEF, when approached said that the WEF conference, held for the first time in the Middle East, would boost economies of the countries in the region.

He said that the Sharm El Sheikh WEF conference would help promote competitiveness and require action at the regional, states, provincial and district levels. Competitiveness would also require a change in mindsets. Industry would need to focus more on its customers and less on the government for the basis of its competitiveness. The government would need to listen to the private sector and remove impediments that raise the cost of doing business, Mr Bayhan added.