ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Abu Dhabi, on Sunday, on a one-day visit to the United Arab Emirates.
Imran Khan was received by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE’s Armed Forces, at Presidential Palace, the PM office said in statement.
Earlier on arrival Prime Minister Imran Khan was received by Sultan bin Jaber Minister of State/ CEO of ADNOC at the Presidential Apron, Abu Dhabi Airport.
This is Imran Khan’s second visit to UAE time in two months.
Economists say he plans to seek financial assistance to help overcome Pakistan’s balance of payments crisis.
The Foreign Office said on Saturday that Khan will meet with the ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, among others during his stay in the Emirates.
Khan was invited to visit the UAE by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
“Matters of bilateral, regional and global interest will be discussed in the meeting between the Prime Minister and the Crown Prince,” the foreign office said in a statement.
The premier is accompanied by a high-level delegation including the ministers of foreign affairs, finance, petroleum, and power, as well as the adviser to the prime minister on commerce, the PM Office said.
Khan’s visit to the UAE comes just days ahead of the conclusion of the International Monetary Fund team’s visit to Islamabad, in regard to which the government has tried to negotiate a bailout package, but a deal has yet to be finalized.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is already in the UAE, attending the Sir Bani Yas Forum. Speaking to media in Islamabad last month, he said Pakistan has requested a “Saudi Arabia-like financial package” from the UAE.
Saudi Arabia agreed in September to provide $3 billion as balance of payment support for one year, along with a deferred payment for the same amount for oil payments to Pakistan.
A high-level UAE delegation comprising senior officials from major companies including Mubadala Petroleum, Etisalat, Dubai Investment Authority, Emaar, and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development visited Islamabad in October and held meetings with Khan, among others.
Senior economist Dr. Athar Ahmed said that the government wanted to seek financial assistance from the UAE before committing to a bailout package from the IMF.
“The government wants to borrow (as little as) possible from the IMF and that’s why it is seeking financial assistance from friendly countries like the UAE,” he told Arab News.
PM Khan arrives in UAE on day-long visit
PM Khan arrives in UAE on day-long visit
- Pakistan seeks financial assistance from UAE
- Saudi Arabia pledged $6 billion to Islamabad in September, Khan hopes UAE will offer similar
Kazakhstan offers to finance rail link to Pakistan ports via Afghanistan
- Kazakh envoy says country ready to fully fund Central Asia-Pakistan rail corridor
- Project revives Pakistan’s regional connectivity push despite Afghan border disruptions
ISLAMABAD: Kazakhstan has offered to fully finance a proposed railway linking Central Asia to Pakistan’s ports via Afghanistan, according to a media report, a move that could revive long-stalled regional connectivity plans and deepen Pakistan’s role as a transit hub for landlocked economies.
The proposal would connect Kazakhstan to Pakistan’s ports of Karachi and Gwadar through Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, providing Central Asia with direct access to warm waters and offering Pakistan a long-sought overland trade corridor to the region.
“We are not asking Pakistan for a single penny,” Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Pakistan, Yerzhan Kistafin, said in an interview with Geo News on Tuesday. “This is not aid. It is a mutually beneficial investment.”
Pakistan has for years sought to position itself as a gateway for Central Asian trade, offering its ports to landlocked economies as part of a broader strategy to integrate South and Central Asia.
However, its ambition has faced setbacks, most recently in October last year when border skirmishes with Afghanistan prompted Islamabad to shut key crossings, suspending transit and bilateral trade.
Kistafin said the rail project would treat Afghanistan not as an obstacle but as a transit partner, arguing that trade and connectivity could help stabilize the country.
“Connectivity creates responsibility,” he said. “Trade creates incentives for peace.”
Under the proposed plan, rail cargo would move from Kazakhstan through Turkmenistan to western Afghanistan before entering Pakistan at Chaman and linking with the national rail network.
Geo News reported the Afghan segment, spanning about 687 kilometers, is expected to take roughly three years to build once agreements are finalized, with Kazakhstan financing the project.
