UAE president hints at ‘huge investment’ in Pakistan

BAHAWALPUR/ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warmly received the UAE President, Sheikh Muhammad Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, at the Chandna Airport in Cholistan desert on Wednesday afternoon.

Earlier, Sheikh Muhammad Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan reached the Cholistan desert, Rahim Yar Khan, on his annual unofficial (private) visit and later Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the UAE president met each other at the airport lounge and discussed the bilateral relations as well as the regional, political and economic situation.

Shehbaz Sharif was accompanied by the Federal Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb, Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi and others, who received the UAE president and entourage at the Chandna Airport in the centre of the Cholistan Desert.

After meeting the UAE president, Shehbaz Sharif returned to Islamabad.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan Wednesday dropped clues that his country was planning to broaden its investment footprint in Pakistan, which needs foreign inflows to prop up its economy.

“Be prepared, the UAE will make a huge investment in Pakistan,” the sources quoted the UAE president as saying during a cordial meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz at the airport.

The prime minister recalled his recent visit to the UAE and emphasised that both countries would work on the understanding reached between the two leaders in various fields, during his visit to the UAE.

The UAE president said that the brotherly relations between the two countries went back many decades and his father, who had immense love for Pakistan and its people, laid the foundation of their bilateral ties. The president also assured the prime minister that the UAE would always stand by Pakistan.

Taking to Twitter, the premier wrote: “Extremely delighted to receive my brother His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed on his arrival in Pakistan, which is his second home. Building on our last meeting, we discussed ways [and] means to further strengthen our brotherly relations.”

The president expressed warm affection towards the prime minister on his arrival in Pakistan and took the premier to his personal jet, sources told Geo News. The premier also met with the family members of the president and held conversations with his children in English and Arabic, the sources said.

The UAE, on January 12, agreed to lend $1 billion to Pakistan and roll over an existing $2 billion loan, the country’s information minister had said, as the country’s central bank foreign reserves fell to just three weeks’ worth of imports.

The UAE’s financial support offered some respite to the country that is still reeling from devastating nationwide floods that have caused more than $30 billion of damage. The loan announcements came as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif kicked off a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates. “This support will help us tide over economic difficulties,” Shehbaz said in a statement.

He met UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and was due to discuss business and economic opportunities with other officials and business leaders, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said.