������Ƶ

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and ������Ƶ on Thursday discussed regional security and agreed to enhance bilateral defense cooperation, with a special focus on maritime security, during a high-level military meeting in Rawalpindi, the Pakistan army said.

General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Pakistan’s Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), met Vice Admiral Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Ghuraybi, Chief of the Naval Staff of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, at the Joint Staff Headquarters in Rawalpindi.

Thursday’s meeting comes amid a regional push by both countries to bolster maritime security cooperation, particularly as geopolitical tensions threaten trade routes through the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf.

“[They] discussed the evolving regional security dynamics both within Middle East & South Asia with particular focus on maritime security,” Pakistan’s military media wing, ISPR, said in a statement.

General Mirza underscored the “historical brotherly relations between Kingdom of ������Ƶ and Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” and “emphasized mutual resolve for enhancing existing bilateral defense cooperation,” according to the statement.

Pakistan and ������Ƶ have shared close military and strategic relations for decades, including joint training programs, military exercises, and high-level defense consultations. Pakistan has historically provided military assistance and training to Saudi forces, and the two countries routinely hold joint military exercises as well as drills in the Arabian and Red Seas.

In recent years, the relationship has broadened beyond defense. ������Ƶ extended a $3 billion deposit to Pakistan in 2024 to support Islamabad’s balance of payments. It remains Pakistan’s largest source of foreign remittances, with approximately $7.4 billion received in FY2024–25 — about one-quarter of total remittance inflows.

Bilateral trade and investment are also expanding.

In 2023, Pakistan’s exports to ������Ƶ were valued at $640 million, while imports stood at $4.5 billion, highlighting both opportunity and imbalance. Saudi investments in Pakistan spiked following 2024 meetings in Islamabad that produced $2 billion in memorandums of understanding spanning energy, agriculture, tech, and mining.

KARACHI: Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD plans to roll out its first car assembled in Pakistan by July or August 2026 to capture growing demand for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in the region, a company executive said on Wednesday.

BYD, the world’s top EV maker, has been expanding rapidly outside its home market, where it is in a strong price war. The Pakistan plant addresses rising demand from emerging markets and allows the company to take advantage of incentives offered by the Pakistani government.

The plant has been under construction since April near Karachi in a partnership between BYD and Mega Motor Company, a subsidiary of Pakistani utility Hub Power, Danish Khaliq, vice president of sales and strategy at BYD Pakistan, told Reuters.

It would initially have the capacity to produce 25,000 units a year on a double shift, he said. He did not elaborate on when the plant would achieve full capacity or say when mass production would begin there.

The plant will start by assembling imported parts, with some local production of non-electric components, Khaliq said, adding it would initially produce vehicles for the domestic market, with potential to export to right-hand drive countries in the region depending on freight costs and business economics.

“We do not foresee excess capacity in our system as demand in Pakistan will catch up,” he said.

BYD started delivering imported EVs in Pakistan in March. Khaliq did not give an exact sales number but said the sales of a few hundred cars had exceeded internal targets by 30 percent.

Khaliq said he expected the market size of EVs and plug-in hybrid cars in Pakistan to grow three to four times in 2025 from around 1,000 total units in 2024. BYD is targeting a 30-35 percent share of the segment, Khaliq said.

Based on a HUBCO filing, BYD Pakistan made around 444 million rupees ($1.56 million) in profit in the 2025 March quarter.

BYD will launch its Shark 6 plug-in hybrid pickup truck in Pakistan on Friday. China’s MG already sells a PHEV SUV, while rival Haval is set to join the segment soon.

Plug-in hybrids offer a more practical option in Pakistan as the country faces a lack of charging stations for all-electric vehicles. The government slashed power tariffs for chargers by 45 percent in January to encourage EV uptake and private charging stations.

($1 = 284.0000 Pakistani rupees)