ISLAMABAD, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Thursday reaffirming the government’s full institutional commitment and a predictable environment, urged international investors, exploration companies and mining enterprises to explore opportunities in Pakistan’s mining sector and develop long-term cooperation.
The deputy prime minister, in his inaugural address at the two-day Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum being held here, assured that the government, together with all relevant federal and provincial institutions, was fully committed to this national undertaking and was determined to match the confidence of its partners with institutional commitment, effective facilitation, and a predictable environment to help flourish responsible investment.
He told the gathering of federal ministers, provincial governors and chief ministers, members of the diplomatic corps, delegates from over 60 countries, including representatives of international financial institutions and development partners and leaders of the global mining industry that Pakistan provided the opportunity as a competitive and trusted destination for mineral exploration and investment.
He said that the government was advancing this vision through national leadership, institutional facilitation, and policy reform to make Pakistan a predictable, competitive and facilitative destination for long-term investment.
The deputy prime minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, mineral development has been elevated to a strategic national economic priority, as his vision of a productive, export-oriented, and investment-driven economy emphasised unlocking Pakistan’s untapped potential, strengthening industrial capacity, and mobilising domestic and international investment.
“Our ambition is clear: to develop Pakistan’s mineral resources responsibly, strengthen our industrial base, diversify our exports, empower our provinces and communities, and establish Pakistan as a competitive and trusted partner in the global minerals economy,” he added.
He remarked that while resources create potential and investment creates opportunity, it is institutions, partnerships, and people that turn potential into lasting prosperity.
“The measure of our success will be the industries we establish, the skills we develop, the enterprises we build and, above all, the lives we improve. This is the future that Pakistan is determined to build,” he added.
Highlighting the country’s economic trajectory, Deputy Prime Minister Dar noted that over the past two years, Pakistan had made significant progress in stabilising macroeconomic indicators through fiscal and monetary discipline, structural reforms, and prudent financial management.
He emphasised that developing mineral resources was integral to the next phase of economic transformation, aiming to diversify exports, strengthen the industrial base, and create new opportunities.
Pointing to Pakistan’s diverse mineral endowment, DPM Dar highlighted significant copper and gold potential along the Tethyan Metallogenic Belt, alongside deposits of iron ore, chromite, lead, zinc, coal, rock salt, marble, gypsum, and gemstones.
He cited the Reko Diq copper-gold project in Balochistan as a prime example of successful collaboration combining international expertise, national participation, and provincial ownership.
Deputy Prime Minister Dar stressed that the global transition to clean energy, electric vehicles, battery storage, and advanced technologies had increased the demand for reliable critical mineral supplies, positioning Pakistan as a competitive and trusted destination.
Calling the provinces essential partners in this national undertaking, he underscored that resource development must create broader benefits through local employment, skills development, infrastructure investment, and strict environmental stewardship.
He also acknowledged the instrumental role played by Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir in advancing the national investment facilitation agenda through mechanisms like the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), supported by frameworks such as the National Mineral Policy and Pakistan Investment Policy 2023.
Outlining the country’s foreign policy approach, the deputy prime minister noted that economic diplomacy remained a central priority, anchored in mutually beneficial partnerships with China, the United States, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations, Turkiye, Azerbaijan, Central Asian Republics, and European partners.
“We want international partnerships that bring more than capital: partnerships that bring technology, expertise, skills and access to markets,” he said, before declaring the Forum and its International Exhibition open.
