Key Takeaways
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with executives from leading global financial institutions in London.
- He invited these firms to invest and expand their services in Pakistan.
- The meetings underscored growing international interest in Pakistan’s economic reforms.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with senior executives from major global financial institutions in London, inviting them to invest and expand their services in Pakistan.
During the meetings, the premier engaged with top officials from Barclays, J.P. Morgan, Citi, BlackRock, and Rothschild & Co.
The prime minister opened the London Stock Exchange’s trading session, becoming the first Pakistani prime minister to do so.
In his meeting with J.P. Morgan’s co-CEO for Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Matthieu Wiltz, PM Shehbaz invited the firm to expand its footprint in Pakistan.
He discussed deepening the partnership across capital markets, trade finance, and investment banking with the firm.
PM Shehbaz also met with Mohammad Kamal Syed, head of Private Bank and Wealth Management UK at Barclays, to discuss opportunities in the country’s financial sector.
The prime minister welcomed Barclays’ interest in Pakistan and encouraged the bank to explore opportunities there.
In his meeting with Rothschild & Co, represented by Chair of Geostrategic Advisory Lord Mark Sedwill and Head of UK Investment Banking Majid Ishaq, discussions centred on Pakistan’s geo-economic priorities and potential advisory collaboration.
The premier also met a group of senior officials from Citi, led by Chief Client Officer David Livingstone, encouraging the bank to expand its corporate and institutional banking services in Pakistan.
PM Shehbaz commended Citi’s long-standing presence in Pakistan and invited the firm to deepen its engagement with the country’s financial sector.
In his meeting with a BlackRock delegation, PM Shehbaz invited increased allocations to Pakistani equities and fixed income within the firm’s frontier markets strategy.
The delegation comprised the co-heads of Emerging Markets and Frontiers, Gordon Fraser and Sam Vecht, along with Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst Emily Fletcher.
Across all engagements, the visiting executives expressed confidence in Pakistan’s economic reform momentum and reaffirmed their institutions’ commitment to deepening engagement with the country’s financial sector.
