ISLAMABAD: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and UAE Ambassador to Pakistan Salem Mohammed Al Zaabi on Tuesday agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in trade, investment and development, Shah’s office said in a statement. 

Shah met Al Zaabi in the southern port city of Karachi, in which UAE Consul General Dr. Bakheet Ateeq Alremeithi also participated, the Chief Minister’s Office said. 

Sindh has eyed cooperation with the UAE recently, with Shah’s spokesperson saying last month that the Gulf nation was interested in a desalination project in Karachi and wanted to invest in Sindh’s transport and construction sectors. 

“The chief minister of Sindh and the UAE ambassador held talks on further enhancing cooperation between the Sindh government and the United Arab Emirates,” Shah’s office said. 

“Both sides agreed to expand cooperation in the fields of investment, trade and development,” it added. 

Shah told the UAE ambassador that Sindh offers vast opportunities for large-scale investment, adding that investors from the UAE can fully benefit from these opportunities.

The chief minister noted that joint work can be undertaken in the sectors of education, health and infrastructure between the two states. 

“He further stated that promoting people-to-people contacts and cultural exchanges would further strengthen bilateral relations,” the statement said.

Pakistan considers the UAE a vital regional ally, with the Gulf nation being Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner after China and the US. 

It is also a major source of foreign investment for the South Asian country, valued at over $10 billion in the last 20 years, according to UAE’s ministry of foreign affairs.