Pakistan terms UAE biggest trade partner in MENA

ISLAMABAD: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been the biggest trade partner of Pakistan in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with a trade volume of more than $8 billion, the Pakistani foreign minister said on Thursday, congratulating the Gulf state on its 50th National Day, Arab News reported.

The statement came during a grand reception hosted by UAE Ambassador to Pakistan Hamad Obaid Al-Zaabi in Islamabad, which marked five decades of the UAE’s formal nationalisation and the start of the unification of the Emirates.

The UAE was formally established on December 2, 1971 after an agreement was reached between rulers of the six Emirates, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Ajman. The seventh, Ras al Khaimah, acceded to the new federation the following year. Since their unification, the seven Emirates have forged a distinct national identity.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Islamabad and the UAE had excellent fraternal relations, underpinned by a shared heritage and multifaceted cooperation. Economic and trade ties between Pakistan and UAE were an important part of this bilateral relationship and had been growing steadily, he added.

“With bilateral trade of over $8 billion, UAE remains Pakistan’s largest trading partner in the Middle East and North Africa Region, while the UAE is also among the largest foreign investors in Pakistan,” he said.

“We have also been working closely at international fora. We congratulate the UAE on its election to the United Nations Security Council for the term 2022/23 and for hosting COP-28.”

“The tremendous progress achieved by the UAE would not have been possible without the visionary leadership of its founding father, His Highness Late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan,” Qureshi said.

Speaking to Arab News, UAE Ambassador Al-Zaabi said that it was a double celebration as along with 50 years of the UAE’s success story, it also marked five decades of diplomatic relations with Pakistan.

“Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, the late founding father of the UAE, laid the foundation of this strong relationship with Pakistan,” Al-Zaabi said, adding that his diplomatic mission was here to continue and build new bridges to take forward this relationship.

Adviser to Pakistani prime minister on commerce Abdul Razak Dawood termed the formation of the UAE a remarkable experiment of visionary leadership of its founding father.

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