ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Minister for Defense Production Zobaida Jalal said this week the United Arab Emirates’ Vision 2030, which emphasizes developing the aviation, aerospace and defense sectors, provides new opportunities to enhance defense ties between Pakistan and the emirates.

The UAE’s Vision 2030 master plan aims to transform the emirate’s economy, including reducing reliance on the oil sector as a source of economic activity over time and putting a greater focus on knowledge-based industries.

“Pakistani government has full desire and commitment to work closely with UAE in the defense industrial domain,” Jalal told Arab News on Tuesday.

Jalal held a meeting with UAE’s envoy to Pakistan, Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi, this week and discussed enhancing defense ties between the two countries.

Describing the Pakistan government’s policy of encouraging public-private partnerships in the defense industry, she said UAE’s Vision 2030, which included indigenization and technological advancement of its defense industry, provided “good opportunity” for enhanced cooperation with Pakistan.

“There are areas of mutual interest and benefits to be explored by both the countries under the UAE vision 2030 and present government’s policy of public private partnership of defense industry of Pakistan,” Jalal said.

Jalal said that Pakistan greatly valued its relations with the Gulf state and considered UAE “an important and long-standing partner in the Middle East.”

“The two sides agreed to enhance their interaction in the field of defense industrial collaboration, which were overshadowed due to COVID-related travel restrictions,” she added.

The UAE envoy also extended an invitation from UAE’s minister of state for defense, Mohammed Ahmed Albaawrdi Al Flasi, to Jalal to attend the IDEX 2021 being held in February 2021.