During this fiscal year, both remittances and exports are doing better than before, but signs of foreign investment leapfrogging to the next big level are not in sight. Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) for seeking foreign investment are one thing, but the volume of investment inflows is another.

Islamabad is making greater efforts to maintain the traditional depth and warmth in its relationship with China, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) while reaching out to Türkiye, Bangladesh, Iran, and some Central Asian states.

So far, it has maintained a balance between its sweet-sour relationship with the US and its ever-growing yet challenging romance with China. It has also won promises of large-scale foreign investment from the UAE and other Gulf Cooperation Council nations and bilateral trade efforts from Türkiye.

All this is being done at least partly to keep the economy, particularly the country’s balance of payments, in shape.

Net inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) grew an impressive 37 per cent in July-December 2024 to $1.88 billion from $1.38bn in July-December 2023, according to the State........

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