ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Pakistan Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi on Monday paid a courtesy call to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The envoy congratulated the prime minister on his re-election conveyed the best wishes of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and hoped that the strong fraternal relations between the two nations would be strengthened further in the years ahead.
The prime minister thanked the UAE leadership for their warm messages of greetings and conveyed his best wishes for President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Recalling the historic relations between Pakistan and the UAE, the PM said Pakistan attached great significance to its brotherly relations with the UAE. The two nations had always supported each other and there was a strong desire on both sides to elevate the relationship to a higher level, he added.
Pakistan-UAE Stronger Economic Partnership
Prime Minister Shehbaz further said that Pakistan desired to translate the tremendous political goodwill into a stronger economic partnership. Noting the exciting transformation of the UAE into a hub for commerce, investment, and tourism, he said Pakistan wanted to partner with the UAE.
He underlined the role of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) as an efficient mechanism to attract foreign investment into priority sectors including minerals & mining, I.T., renewable energy, agriculture, and industry.
On the multilateral side, the prime minister congratulated the UAE for successfully hosting the COP 28 meeting on climate change in 2023 as well as its efforts to bring peace in Gaza while serving as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
He also appreciated the UAE for hosting about 1.8 million Pakistanis who were a bridge between the two countries.
The envoy reaffirmed the UAE leadership’s commitment to Pakistan and said that his country looked forward to working with the government of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif to build stronger relations.
He extended an invitation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on behalf of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to visit the UAE at the earliest convenience.
While accepting the invitation, the prime minister also reiterated an invitation to the President of UAE to visit Pakistan at his earliest convenience and said the people of Pakistan were waiting to accord him a very warm welcome.
