ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that the recently signed Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye brought the three countries even closer together and sent a message of unity and peace throughout the region.
The prime minister, in a meeting with Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Engineer Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley, who called on him here, reaffirmed the deep-rooted and fraternal ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and conveyed his warmest regards for the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
While welcoming the Saudi dignitary, he underscored that as strategic partners, both Pakistan and the Kingdom must now focus their energies towards deepening economic and agricultural ties to translate their longstanding relationship into a stronger, mutually beneficial trade and investment partnership.
He expressed satisfaction at the constructive engagement between the two sides, particularly with regard to export of agricultural products by Pakistan to the Kingdom.
Both sides also exchanged views on enhancing agricultural productivity in Pakistan, through the use of technology, research and development and more efficient use of water resources.
Prime Minister Shehbaz announced that a delegation of agricultural experts from Pakistan would soon visit Riyadh to carry forward these discussions with a view to realize the full potential of this partnership.
The Saudi minister thanked the prime minister for the warm hospitality extended to him and his delegation and reaffirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to deepening cooperation with Pakistan across the agriculture, water and food security sectors.
The meeting was attended by a number of federal ministers including Rana Tanveer Hussain, Mohammad Aurangzeb, Atta Tarar, Jam Kamal Khan, Dr. Musadik Malik, Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, Dr. Syed Tauqir Shah, and Bilal Azhar Kiyani, SAPM Tariq Fatemi, and senior government officials.
Meanwhile, PM Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed the authorities concerned to ensure the implementation of reformative measures in the tax system within the stipulated timeframe and accelerate effective action against tax evasion, smuggling, and illegal businesses.
The prime minister, chairing the weekly review meeting on FBR reforms here, directed a third-party audit of reforms to bring transparency, effectiveness, and sustainability to the process, saying that digitalisation, production monitoring, and automated systems were key pillars of the FBR reforms.
During the meeting, the prime minister, who was briefed on the restructuring of PRAL, said that the government’s efforts to introduce tax reforms were aimed at the development of the country.
He said that the deployment of reputed goods evaluators in the FBR was a welcome step and appreciated the efforts of the Board’s chairman and his team in this regard.
He also instructed that the implementation of reforms should be ensured to modernise and strengthen the tax system, increase revenue collection, and completely eradicate smuggling.
