The generations-old connections between the UAE and Pakistan have been hailed as the Asian country marks its National Day. Experts say historically strong bilateral relations have helped both nations to prosper.
Ties between the two countries have evolved into wide-ranging co-operation in various fields, says Ashique Shaikh, Press Counsellor at the Pakistan Consulate in Dubai, who says Pakistan and the UAE enjoy extremely close relations, founded on common religion, cultural affinities, shared traditions and interests.
Landmark developments
“It is well known that Shaikh Zayed, the founding father of the UAE, was a friend of Pakistan and considered Pakistan his second home; and because of his love and support for our country, there are a lot of landmarks
in Pakistan in Shaikh Zayed’s name.”
These, he says, include the Shaikh Zayed Islamic Centre at the University of Karachi, in the capital of the Pakistani province of Sindh, Shaikh Zayed International Airport, also known as Rahim Yar Khan Airport, located at Rahim Yar Khan, in the Punjab province of Pakistan, the Shaikh Zayed Hospital for children and another for women in Larkana Sindh, Pakistan.
The UAE-Pakistani Friendship Road, linking the south and north of Waziristan and funded by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development at a cost of $60.6 million (Dh222.5 million), officially opened in 2016, marking the finish of one of the biggest development projects in the tribal region.
It was one of more than 160 development projects that included roads, bridges, health and education completed in Pakistan under the UAE PAP, including the construction and rehabilitation of two bridges, 52 schools and seven hospitals.
Shaikh says bilateral trade between the UAE and Pakistan reached $8.3 billion during the last fiscal year 2016-17, recording a significant 9.4 per cent increase over 2015-16 when trade stood at $7.7 billion, with the main exports from Pakistan to the UAE being textiles and rice. Imports from the UAE to Pakistan also increased from $6.62 billion to $7.23 billion.
Dr Faisal Ikram, President of the Pakistan Association Dubai, also says Pakistan and the UAE have shared robust bilateral ties since the 1970s.
“History remains a witness that Pakistan was the first country to recognise the UAE after its inception; hence the journey of friendship begins,” he says. “The egalitarian leadership of its founding father Shaikh Zayed in turning the country into an international aviation hub makes him one of the great visionaries of our times.”
