ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the UAE on Monday signed multiple agreements to further cooperation in trade, culture and consular affairs.
This took place during a visit by the UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan to Islamabad.
Sheikh Abdullah arrived in Islamabad on Sunday for a two-day visit aimed at strengthening cooperation in energy, trade and security, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in an earlier statement.
Pakistan and the UAE have deepened their economic partnership in recent years.
The UAE is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner after China and the US, and a major source of foreign investment, with over $10 billion invested in the last two decades.
“I must say that our relationship has been growing on a good pace,” Sheikh Abdullah said during a joint media briefing with his Pakistan counterpart Ishaq Dar at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“I think both our leaders, the people of Pakistan and the UAE do want to see more development in the relationship,” he added.
Sheikh Abdullah said relations between the two countries, over the past few years, have been “moving faster than they have for a while.”
“And I really look forward that the good spirit that has been moving the relationship in the last few months would continue on so many different cycles, if it’s trade, investment, aviation,” he added.
Dar and Sheikh Abdullah signed several agreements to promote cooperation between the two countries in multiple sectors including culture, trade and consular affairs, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan said.
They signed a pact between the UAE’s Ministry of Culture and its Pakistan counterpart. And they also inked an agreement to establish a joint committee for consular affairs.
The officials also witnessed the signing of a pact to set up a UAE-Pakistan Joint Business Council. The agreement was inked between the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The UAE royal is also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during his visit.
The UAE is home to over a million expatriates from the Asia nation, the second-largest overseas Pakistani community globally, and a major source of remittances.
Policymakers in Islamabad view the UAE as an ideal export destination due to its geographic proximity, which lowers freight costs and facilitates smoother trade.
In recent years, the two countries have signed a series of agreements to boost economic ties.
In February, during the Abu Dhabi crown prince’s visit to Pakistan, the two sides signed accords in mining, railways, banking and infrastructure.
Last year in January, Pakistan and the UAE signed deals worth more than $3 billion covering railways, economic zones and infrastructure development.
The UAE has become a crucial partner for Pakistan amid Islamabad’s efforts to achieve sustainable growth after suffering from a prolonged macroeconomic crisis.
