Pakistan Chemical Manufacturers’ Association (PCMA) is calling for Saudi Arabia to join forces with them to help boost its petro-chemical initiatives.

Following a recent visit from Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan to Saudi Arabia, PCMA is seeking investment from the country as well as its experience in the industry, reported Business Recorder.

General secretary and chief executive officer of the PCMA Iqbal Kidwai said this would be useful to promote petro-chemicals in Pakistan, and could eventually help the country become involved in exporting chemicals to other areas of the world.

At the moment, much of the nation is reliant on imports as there is no Naptha Petro-chem Cracker Complex. This is costing Pakistan considerably, with its bill amounting to $5 billion (£3.81 billion) to $6 billion a year to the US for the import of chemicals. This figure is set to increase by eight per cent in future years, as dependency of chemicals increases.

Without investment, Mr Kidwai said Pakistan’s petro-chemical industry faces huge constraints and challenges. These include dependency on expensive imports; a lack of appropriate infrastructure and toll processing equipment; a shortage of finances; weak trade policies; and low energy supplies.

PCMA does not just want to encourage investment from Saudi Arabia, but also from Chinese and other Pakistani investors too.

Its vision is to organise foreign delegations to improve its understanding of market opportunities around the world, as well as co-operate openly with governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. These will all help to promote the chemical industry in the southern Asian country.