Pak-ME countries’ relations to improve further

There have been several developments with regard to Pakistan-Middle Eastern countries’ relations lately. Only recently, the army chief met the honourable Saudi envoy to Pakistan and reassured him that the Pakistan Army holds the defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at par with its own.

The assurance was given by Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa during his talks with Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Abdullah Marzouk al Zahrani at the General Headquarters. The COAS reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to the security and protection of the Holy Mosques and the territorial integrity of the Kingdom.

After taking charge as the Chief of the Army Staff, it is worth mentioning that General Qamar Bajwa made the first official visit to Saudi Arabia and met with the top leadership during his three-day stay there.

It may be noted that Lt Gen Omar Mahmood Hayat, Chairman Pakistan Ordinance Factories (POF), last year told the National Assembly’s Defence Production Committee at the Parliament House that Saudi Arabia was the largest importer of Pakistani arms and had purchased small and medium conventional weaponry worth millions of USD.

“During the current fiscal year, POF has secured export order worth $81 million, and Saudi Arabia remains the biggest importer of arms and ammunition from Pakistan,” reports quoted General Hayat as saying. He also added that during the last decade, POF had introduced 72 new weapons and related products without getting any financing from the government. Also, following a string of bomb blasts in the kingdom by the extremists last year, Pakistan had renewed its security assurance to Saudi Arabia.

The government “reiterates its abiding commitment to the safety, security and territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia,” the Foreign Office said in a statement on terrorist attacks in Madina, Qatif and Jeddah.

The Pakistani troops also participated in the "Thunder of the North" exercise involving ground, air, and naval forces in Saudi Arabia in 2016. The exercise sends a "clear message" that Riyadh and its allies "stand united in confronting all challenges and preserving peace and stability in the region."

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s relations with the UAE also remain extremely cordial and friendly. The Chief of the Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, recently expressed condolences over the killing of the United Arab Emirates nationals in bombings in Afghanistan’s Kandahar city. According to an Inter-Services Public Relations press release, the COAS met the ambassador of the UAE to Pakistan, Essa Abdulla Al Basha Al Noaimi, at the General Headquarters.

The COAS appreciated the ambassador’s efforts in improving the Pak-UAE cooperation in various fields, thanking him for the UAE’s contributions to various development projects in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The UAE ambassador to Pakistan appreciated the Pakis­tan Army’s efforts to fight terrorism and militancy in the region, the ISPR said.

In December last year, the United Arab Emirates’ Minister for Culture, Youth Affairs and Social Development Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan said that his group of companies’ investment in Pakistan stood at $6 billion. “Our investment portfolio stands at $ 6bn and further investment will be done in all sectors,” the UAE minister said while speaking at a ceremony at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). He said that Pakistan is not only a trusted friend but a strategic partner. It had always extended strong support to the UAE and Pakistanis contributed a lot in his country’s social and economic development.

Last year, the former COAS had inaugurated a building of the Cadet College, Spinkai, in South Waziristan Agency, financed by the United Arab Emirates government. Before that, the UAE-Pakistani Friendship Road, funded by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development at a cost of $60.6 million (Dh222 million), was inaugurated in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). The UAE-Pakistani Friendship Road, with a length of 72 kms and width of nine metres, is one of the biggest development projects in the tribal region, and links south and north of Waziristan regions.

The chain that binds the Gulf states with Pakistan remains unbreakable.