ISLAMABAD: The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates on Friday hosted a grand iftar feast for diplomats, officials, media and affluent Pakistanis, but Ambassador Hamd Ubaid Ibrahim, who gained a lot of popularity in Pakistan owing to his philanthropic activities ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, told Arab News that his efforts to help the poor in this country were just beginning.
Ibrahim recently gifted a fully furnished house to a widowed fruit seller in Islamabad, making social media users in Pakistan praise him for his generosity. He also gifted a double-story, four-bedroom house to a paralyzed man from Kashmir who lost his abode in a devastating earthquake in October 2005.
The embassy has also launched its annual Ramadan iftar food distribution drive in Pakistan for the needy people supported by the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Humanitarian Foundation.
Several special Pakistani athletes, funded by the UAE government, were able to participate in the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games in February, a multi-sport event for athletes with intellectual disabilities.
Pakistan and the UAE also share deep-rooted cultural affinities and faith. For many Pakistanis, the UAE is a second home. Pakistan was the first country that extended recognition to the UAE in 1971, and its expatriates in that Gulf state have contributed significantly to Dubai’s commercial growth.
Recently, Pakistan also received a $3 billion relief package from the UAE to stave off its balance-of-payments crisis. Pakistani officials say strategic ties with the UAE are on an upward trajectory, bringing the two countries and their people still closer together.
