ISLAMABAD — Pakistan on Friday announced over a dozen mineral cooperation agreements with foreign companies and countries, declaring that it would move away from exporting raw materials and unprocessed minerals as it seeks to reshape its economic and development priorities. At the concluding day of the Pakistan Mineral Investment Forum, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir both emphasised that Pakistan wanted investors to build complete value chains, starting from exploration to finished products, instead of just exporting raw materials.
In his speech, the premier called for Pakistan's mineral resources to be developed alongside environmental protection, stressing that mining projects must follow international standards and use modern technology to safeguard water resources and workers' health and safety. Shehbaz calls for mineral development alongside environmental protection Shehbaz said Pakistan wanted investment partnerships extending beyond extraction to processing and manufacturing. He described such arrangements as the foundation of fair and equitable partnerships that would create value for Pakistan while offering significant opportunities to investors.
PM Sharif invites global investors to explore Pakistan’s mineral resources as PMIF26 concludes with 13 agreements and MoUs in Islamabad. While also clearing doubts over the future of the Reko-Diq project, Barrick Gold Executive Chairman John Thornton said that his company, which owns a 50% stake in the project, “intends to continue to be a long-term partner of Pakistan“. Pakistan also entered into two memoranda of understanding with Ivanhoe Atlantic, a US firm that possessed modern technology to unearth minerals.