Key Points
- UAE is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner
- Gulf country is home to more than 1 million Pakistanis
- Pakistan, UAE signed agreements valued at over $3 billion last year
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will extend the two-billion-dollar payment due to the south Asian country this month, state media reported on Tuesday.
The country’s premier told a meeting of the federal cabinet in Islamabad that UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan conveyed this decision to him with pleasure during a one-on-one meeting in Rahim Yar Khan.
Promoting investment
Radio Pakistan reported that Shehbaz Sharif said that his meeting with the UAE President focused on strengthening bilateral ties and promoting investment. The premier said that the UAE President, while referring to the historic fraternal relations between the two nations, expressed resolve to investing in Pakistan, assuring that they would not fall behind in this regard.
Earlier, Shehbaz Sharif and the UAE President vowed to enhance bilateral cooperation in diverse sectors during their meeting in Rahim Yar Khan.
Economic collaboration
According to a statement issued by the media office of Pakistan’s Prime Minister, the two sides also discussed a wide range of issues, including economic collaboration, regional stability, climate change, and the promotion of mutual interests on the global stage.
The UAE is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner, after China and the United States, and a key source of foreign investment, totalling more than $10 billion in the past two decades, according to the UAE Foreign Ministry.
Ideal export destination
The UAE is also home to more than one million Pakistanis. Pakistani policymakers view the UAE as an ideal export destination, thanks to its proximity, which reduces transportation and freight costs while streamlining commercial transactions.
In January last year, Pakistan and the UAE signed several agreements valued at over $3 billion, focusing on cooperation in railways, economic zones, and infrastructure. The agreements were made during the visit of Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, to Davos, Switzerland, where he attended the 54th World Economic Forum (WEF) summit.
