'Pakistan's trillion-dollar mineral reserves can help us bid farewell to IMF:' PM Shehbaz

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged foreign investors and entrepreneurs on Tuesday to explore opportunities for utilising Pakistan’s abundant geological resources, stating that the country’s mineral wealth could help it say “goodbye to the IMF programme.”

Addressing a gathering of the Pakistan Mineral Investment Forum 2025 at the Jinnah Convention Center, the premier expressed his expectations from the forum by stating that “this forum will further boost investment and confidence of the investor in the sector of minerals.”

“Almighty God has blessed Pakistan with a huge number of natural resources spanning over the rugged mountains of Balochistan to snow-covered hills of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and to the pristine tops of Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir,” Associate Press Pakistan cited Premier Shehbaz.

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PM Shehbaz said Pakistan has "trillions of dollars" of natural resources, and if “we are able to harvest these great assets, the country will say goodbye to the IMF programme."

He added that the availability of natural resources, particularly minerals, would enable the country to move away from loans, debt, and foreign borrowing.

Speaking about the ongoing projects of minerals in Pakistan, premier noted that work on Thar coal was underway, which he said, would not only provide the cheap electricity to Pakistan for several years, but also eliminate the dependency on imported coal. 

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Punjab had discovered the iron ores deposits in Chiniot while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan had the enormous potential in this sector, he added.

The Prime Minister praised Mark Bristow, President and CEO of Barrick Gold, for his dedication to the Reko Diq project, highlighting his impressive leadership and perseverance. 

At the event, the prime minister also welcomed all the companies from Europe, the US, China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkiye, Qatar, and other countries to invest in the country’s minerals sector.