ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi met with his United Arab Emirates counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Faisal said on Saturday.
The spokesman said in a tweet that the ministers’ meeting was constructive and “the two FMs discussed bilateral cooperation and regional issues of mutual interest.”
Qureshi had arrived in the UAE on Friday to attend the 9th Sir Bani Yas Forum.
Sir Bani Yas Forum is an annual moot on peace and security in the Middle East and the Gulf organized by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, foreign ministers of various countries are participating in the forum to discuss the “issues related to Middle East.”
Qureshi is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with the foreign ministers and representatives of the other countries on the sidelines of the forum.
The forum aims to create a space for a frank and constructive conversation among leading policy and opinion makers on critical peace and security issues in the Middle East.
The Middle East is an area of immense importance to Pakistan; Islamabad had traditionally close relations with it for a long time.
Pakistan and UAE foreign ministers discuss regional issues, bilateral ties
Pakistan and UAE foreign ministers discuss regional issues, bilateral ties
- The two foreign ministers discussed bilateral cooperation and regional issues of mutual interest
- Pakistan’s foreign minister is in UAE to attend the annual meeting of Sir Bani Yas Forum
Pakistan joins OIC, Islamic nations to reject Israel’s recognition of Somaliland
- Foreign ministers of 21 Islamic nations, OIC issue joint statement to condemn Israel’s move to recognize breakaway African region
- Joint statement describes Israel’s move as a “grave violation of the principles of international law and the United Nations Charter“
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday joined the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and other Arab and Islamic nations in condemning Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, a breakaway African region, calling it a violation of international law and reaffirming its support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia.
Israel this week announced it had recognized Somaliland — a self-declared region that broke away from Somalia in 1991 but has not previously been recognized by any United Nations member state — triggering condemnation from Somalia and criticism from regional bodies.
The joint statement shared by Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Sunday was endorsed by the foreign ministers of 20 other Muslim countries including Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Qatar, Libya, Iran, Iraq, Türkiye, Yemen and others as well as the OIC.
“Their unequivocal rejection of Israel’s recognition of the ‘Somaliland’ region of the Federal Republic of Somalia on 26 December 2025, given the serious repercussions of such unprecedented measure on peace and security in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea, and its serious effects on international peace and security as a whole, which also reflects Israel’s full and blatant disregard to international law,” the joint statement said.
The statement said Israel’s recognition constitutes a “grave violation of the principles of international law and the United Nations Charter,” pointing out that it reflects Tel Aviv’s expansionist agenda.
The Muslim states said they reject any measures that undermine Somalia’s unity, territorial integrity or sovereignty over its entire territory.
“The full rejection of any potential link between such a measure and any attempts to forcibly expel the Palestinian people out of their land, which is unequivocally rejected in any form as a matter of principle,” the statement said.
The statement was referencing international media reports earlier this year that said Israel and the US had reached out to East African states, including Somaliland, to take in Palestinians from Gaza.
Pakistan’s foreign office on Saturday issued a separate statement condemning Israel’s recognition of Somaliland.
“Pakistan strongly condemns any attempts to undermine the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Somalia, and rejects, in this regard, the announcement made by Israel recognizing the independence of the so-called Somaliland region of the Federal Republic of Somalia,” the foreign office had said.
Somalia’s government has said Israel’s recognition of Somaliland violates its sovereignty, while the African Union has opposed unilateral recognition of breakaway regions on the continent.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday his country had recognized Somaliland “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords,” referring to US-brokered deals that helped establish ties between Israel and Arab states.
