The European Union (EU) and Pakistan signed three grant agreements for €65 million ($74.6 million) on Monday that would assist Islamabad attract international investment, deliver renewable energy to off-grid populations in its northwest and improve access to justice, the information ministry said.

The awards are financed through the EU’s Multiannual Indicative Program 2021-2027 and are part of Global Gateway, the European Commission’s infrastructure investment agenda.

The plan intends to mobilize up to €300 billion ($344.6 million) in public and private investment globally in the period 2021-2027 in sectors such as technology, energy and transport.

The Pakistani government is focusing on attracting more foreign investment as it tries to achieve sustainable economic growth. In 2023 it created the Special Investment Facilitation Council, a hybrid government entity comprising both civilian and military leaders, to attract international investment to vital economic sectors.

Addressing the signing, EU Ambassador Raimundas Karoblis said: “These agreements reflect the EU’s commitment to Pakistan’s economic development and investment ambitions under our flagship Global Gateway initiative.”

The first program attempts to promote foreign investment by improving the taxation structure in Pakistan and by boosting the long-term financial planning of the government.

The second would increase renewable energy in rural villages in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province that are not connected to the national grid. It will also train to attract private investment into the energy industry of the province.

The third, building on EU assistance before, will help individuals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan access police, prosecution services, courts and legal aid.

Both provinces share a border with Afghanistan and have bore the brunt of extremist strikes in Pakistan in recent years. Research and data platform South Asia Terrorism Portal recorded 176 attacks and 438 deaths in Balochistan in July, the highest number of violence in the month, while KP recorded 143 occurrences and 244 fatalities during the period.

The same program will help Pakistan’s most populous and industrialized provinces, Punjab and Sindh, to expand alternative and commercial conflict resolution with the declared purpose of making them more appealing to European and other corporations seeking to invest.

The EU’s development partnership with Pakistan focuses on economic development, climate resilience, governance, rule of law, human rights and sustainable management of natural resources, the statement stated. The European Union (EU) and Pakistan on Monday inked three grant agreements for €65 million ($74.6 million) to assist Islamabad attract international investment, deliver renewable energy to off-grid populations in its northwest and improve access to justice, the information ministry said.

The awards are supported under the EU’s Multiannual Indicative Program 2021-2027 and are part of the European Commission’s infrastructure investment initiative, Global Gateway.

The plan intends to mobilize up to €300 billion ($344.6 million) in public and private investment globally in the period 2021-2027 in sectors such as technology, energy and transport.

The Pakistani government is focusing on attracting more foreign investment as it tries to achieve sustainable economic growth. In 2023 it created the Special Investment Facilitation Council, a hybrid government entity comprising both civilian and military leaders, to attract international investment to vital economic sectors.

Addressing the signing, EU Ambassador Raimundas Karoblis said: “These agreements reflect the EU’s commitment to Pakistan’s economic development and investment ambitions under our flagship Global Gateway initiative.”

The first program attempts to promote foreign investment by improving the taxation structure in Pakistan and by boosting the long-term financial planning of the government.

The second would increase renewable energy in rural villages in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province that are not connected to the national grid. It will also train to attract private investment into the energy industry of the province.

The third, building on EU assistance before, will help individuals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan access police, prosecution services, courts and legal aid.

Both provinces share a border with Afghanistan and have bore the brunt of extremist strikes in Pakistan in recent years. Research and data platform South Asia Terrorism Portal recorded 176 attacks and 438 deaths in Balochistan in July, the highest number of violence in the month, while KP recorded 143 occurrences and 244 fatalities during the period.

The same program will also help the most populated and industrialized regions of Pakistan, Punjab and Sindh, to increase alternative and commercial conflict resolution, with the declared purpose of making them more attractive for European and other corporations seeking to invest.

The EU’s development cooperation with Pakistan covers economic development, climate resilience, governance, rule of law, human rights and sustainable management of natural resources, the statement said.

Pakistan’s net foreign direct investment (FDI) jumped 80 percent year-on-year to $316 million in August, the country’s financial advisor said on Sunday, calling it a “positive signal” as Islamabad transitions from macroeconomic stability to investment-led, sustainable development.

The $316 million foreign investment inflows was the greatest monthly level reached by the country in the last two years, while it marked a 77 percent increase on a month-on-month basis, Khurram Schehzad, an assistant to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, said in a post on X.

The increase was backed by better investment inflows from China, Canada and the UAE, along with a reduced repatriation and outflows, leading to a much stronger net FDI position during the month,” he said.

Pakistan’s net FDI plummeted 34 percent to $1.64 billion or 0.39 percent of gross domestic product in the Fiscal Year 2025-26 that ended in June, according to World Bank data.

This was far below the previous average of about 2 percent of GDP for Emerging Market and Developing Economies and much below the roughly 5 percent peak reported in 2008.

For policymakers, investment promotion should not cease after an investor joins the nation, said the former minister.

“It’s about shifting investment, thinking from measuring capital flows only to understanding how capital creates enduring economic capability.”

Consumer prices in Pakistan surged to 11.1 percent in August from 9.2 percent in July, exceeding the central bank’s medium-term inflation target of 5-7 percent further.

Oil prices fell to their lowest in more than a week on Monday on hopes diplomacy in the Iran war will get a chance this week amid a UN meet and as investors watched a partial recovery in shipments from Saudi Arabia despite continuous attacks by Yemen’s Houthis.

Brent crude futures and US West Texas Intermediate crude earlier on Monday dropped to their lowest since Sept. 10. Brent was at $101.71 a barrel by 0213 GMT, down $2.16, or ​2.08%, after finishing 0.91% lower on Friday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell $2.15, or 2.14 percent, to $98.15 a barrel after a 1.58 percent decline in the previous session.“The risk premium is being stripped out of oil prices on the back of hopes that a diplomatic solution to the US-Iran war may be found this week,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.Whether that hope will be fulfilled remains to be seen. “We’ll see how it goes.

The WTI broke a major psychological support at $100 a barrel while some investors may have rolled over their positions in the October contract a day ahead of expiry to November, said a broker in Singapore.

Iran and the US traded more threats on Sunday as the standoff continued, but President Donald Trump indicated he would be open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is due in New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly.

Iran has informed mediators about its prerequisites for resuming talks to end the war with the US, Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei said in an interview on Saturday, Al Jazeera reported.

But tensions in the Middle East remained elevated as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis said they struck “sensitive” locations in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Saturday with missiles and drones, as well as an Aramco facility in the Red Sea city of Yanbu, a vital oil export centre.

Three Iranian sources acquainted with the situation said China had asked Iran to assist reign in the Houthis following a plea to Beijing by Saudi Arabia after the strikes.

Houthi strikes on Saudi Aramco’s East-West pipeline have led the state energy corporation to boost exports through the Strait of Hormuz this and next month after halting some shipments through Yanbu.

That meant OPEC kingpin exports ​bounced up to around 4 million barrels per day (bpd) so far in September after falling to ​2.4 million bpd ⁠in August, the lowest since at least 2013, according to interim statistics from analytics firm Kpler.”Oil flows in the Middle East are surprisingly resilient despite disruption to Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline,” JPMorgan analysts said in a note on September 18 adding the overall oil flows averaged 17.1 million bpd in the past 10 days, barely 6.1 million bpd below the 2025 average.“The most ​notable pivot has come from Saudi Arabia,” the experts said. Satellite data showed Saudi oil transiting the Strait of Hormuz averaged 2.9 million bpd over ​the preceding six days, up from just 700,000 bpd in August.