UAE envoy calls for revitalising bilateral trade

KARACHI: United Arab Emirates Ambassador to Pakistan Hammad Obaid Ibrahimi AlZaabi he called for boosting trade and investment relations, and also stressed the need to revitalise and update various bilateral agreements, as there is a great potential in Pakistan.

Exchanging views with the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) president Shariq Vohra, the envoy lauded the bilateral trade and brotherly relations between Pakistan and the UAE.

The UAE investors are eager to come to Pakistan to invest in various sectors, particularly agriculture, which is the most important sector of the country.

The UAE ambassador said investment potential existed in all the provinces of the country, particularly in the fields of agriculture, textile, sports, etc.

“For us, Pakistan is a brotherly country and we consider this country as our second home,” he said, adding that the UAE Embassy actively engages with the Pakistani business community and tries its best to fully facilitate them.

He assured that he would visit Karachi again in September to hold another meeting with the business community.

He also invited the business community of the KCCI to participate in the Expo 2020 Dubai, which will start from October 2021 with more than 180 countries participating in this expo.

“It will provide a perfect opportunity to Pakistani businessmen to improve linkages and explore areas of trade and investment cooperation,” he said, adding that the UAE has been issuing golden visas to investors with no investment limits and also to the professionals for a period of 10 years and they have been receiving many applications for the golden visa, which can also be obtained by the business fraternity.

Earlier, welcoming the ambassador, the KCCI president said Pakistan and the UAE have been enjoying excellent relations for several years, as a large number of Pakistani manpower has been working rigorously and playing a major role in the development and modernisation of the UAE, which resulted in making it a major international transit hub.

Although trade of more than $5 billion has been going on between the two brotherly countries, not much investment has been made, particularly by the UAE investors in Pakistan, as only a few UAE companies have invested here, which require more attention from both sides.

“[The] UAE investors must come to invest in Pakistan, which offers lucrative opportunities in numerous sectors, particularly the agriculture sector,” he stressed, while referring to a statement of Prime Minister Imran Khan during the visit of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in which PM Khan welcomed the UAE’s interest in investing in various sectors in Pakistan, including oil and gas, logistics, ports and construction.

In the meantime, the UAE ambassador also called on State Bank of Pakistan Governor Reza Baqir and stressed the bilateral cooperation and mechanism for developing joint programmes between the two countries.

During a visit to the mausoleum of the Founder of the nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the UAE envoy said: “While celebrating Pakistan’s 74th independence anniversary, we recall the respected and great leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah and his great efforts and achievements, and express our respect for the people and leadership of this great country.”

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