ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday held talks to address delays faced by Pakistani passport holders in obtaining visas from the Gulf state.
Pakistan’s Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb discussed the matter with the Ambassador of the UAE, Salem M. Salem Al Bawab Al Zaabi, in Islamabad on Thursday, a finance ministry statement said.
During the meeting, Muhammad Aurangzeb reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further deepen its fraternal partnership with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
🇵🇰🤝🇦🇪 Pakistan & UAE Commit to Deepening Strategic Economic Partnership
The UAE’s newly appointed Ambassador to Pakistan, H.E. Salem M. Salem AlBawab Al Zaabi, called on Federal Minister for Finance & Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb today in Islamabad.
Both sides reaffirmed… pic.twitter.com/gCLcvrXLPp
— Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan (@Financegovpk) November 27, 2025
He acknowledged the UAE’s sustained support to Pakistan across multiple fronts — including trade, investment, remittances, government‑to‑government financing, and crucial backing during Pakistan’s engagements with international financial institutions.
Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Al Zaabi underscored that strengthening bilateral ties, particularly in strategic, economic, and cultural dimensions, would be a key priority of his tenure.
He also unveiled significant visa facilitation measures for Pakistani nationals. These measures include online visa processing, e-visas without passport stamping. Moreover, he said the UAE has been processing nearly 500 applications daily for Pakistani nationals.
Defence cooperation
During the meeting, both sides also reviewed ongoing defence cooperation and training exchanges between Pakistan and the UAE.
Earlier, Additional Interior Secretary Salman Chaudhry told a Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights that the UAE had not been issuing visas to Pakistanis.
“If a ban is imposed, getting it removed would be difficult,” he warned. The official said that currently, the UAE was only issuing visas to blue and diplomatic passport holders.
The UAE is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner after China and the United States, and a major source of foreign investment, valued at over $10 billion in the last 20 years, according to the UAE foreign ministry.
It is also home to more than a million Pakistani expatriates who send back more than $5 billion in remittances to the South Asian country annually.
