Sharif calls for American investment in Pakistan in Trump meet

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif invited American companies to invest in the country during a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House that also focused on how to end the war in Gaza, his office said on Sept 26. 

Mr Sharif, along with army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, met Mr Trump on Sept 25, in a further sign of warming relations with the United States, which had been frozen under the previous US administration.

The Pakistani Prime Minister earmarked the agriculture, technology, mining and energy sectors for investment from US companies, his office said in a statement. Mr Trump previously called for American companies to explore for oil in Pakistan. 

“The Prime Minister expressed the confidence that under President Trump’s leadership, the Pakistan-US partnership would be further strengthened to the mutual benefit of both countries,” it said. 

There was no immediate statement from the White House. Just before the meeting, Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Mr Munir “is a very great guy, and so is the Prime Minister”. 

Pakistan’s military wields an outsized influence over politics and the army chief is widely considered the most powerful person in the country.

Middle East peace discussed

Discussions also turned to the Middle East, where Pakistan is taking an increasing role. The Pakistani Prime Minister’s office said that Mr Sharif “lauded President Trump’s efforts to bring about an immediate end to the war in Gaza”. 

Mr Sharif was one of the leaders from Muslim-majority nations who met Mr Trump earlier this week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The US President had presented them with a 21-point peace plan for the Middle East and Gaza, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sept 24, adding that

he is confident of “some sort of breakthrough”.

Earlier in September, Pakistan signed a

mutual defence agreement

with Saudi Arabia, as many Arab nations feel a rising threat from Israel. Pakistan is the only nuclear-armed Muslim-majority nation and also boasts the largest army among them.

It was the first meeting in the White House with a Pakistani civilian leader since Mr Trump’s first term, when he hosted then-Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2019.

But Mr Trump did meet Mr Munir earlier this year at the White House, without Mr Sharif present, the first instance of such a meeting with a civilian government in place in Islamabad. REUTERS