Pakistan and the UAE have a long-standing cultural and commercial relationship based on common faith, interests, and cultural affinities.
With trade figures reaching $9 billion (about Dh33 billion), the UAE is Pakistan’s biggest trading partner in the Gulf. While the country exports $3 billion worth of goods to the UAE, it imports products worth $6 billion, says Asif Ali Khan Durrani, Pakistan’s ambassador to the UAE.
With about 1.3 million Pakistanis in the UAE, it is the second-largest expatriate community here, after Indians. “The Pakistani workforce comes to the UAE for its employment opportunities, particularly for semi-skilled and unskilled labourers in the construction and transport sectors,” he says.
“Highly qualified Pakistanis, however, prefer to work in the banking, finance and services sectors.
“With such a significant presence in the UAE, Pakistani expatriates play a major role in the infrastructure development and economic growth of the country, while contributing to Pakistan’s economy by remitting around $3 billion.”
Foreign investment
The UAE has also emerged as an important investor in Pakistan.“Today, the UAE has become one of the largest sources of foreign direct investment in Pakistan,” he says.
Pakistani expatriates have also made valuable contributions to the UAE’s industries. The Pakistan Business Council acts as a centre of support for Pakistani businesses in the UAE. Tanvir Khawaja, President, Pakistan Business Council, says, “To facilitate trade, we are looking at setting up a help desk, which will provide guidelines and assistance about common laws and rules for starting businesses in the UAE. We keep close ties with our counterpart in Pakistan to ensure smooth service. We encourage Pakistani companies to participate in exhibitions in the UAE to explore business opportunities in the country.
“In line with our long-term vision, we have plans to start a series of programmes on Expo 2020 to ensure strong [Pakistani] participation at the mega event,” he adds.
Sensing opportunities for growth, Pakistani companies are setting up offices in the UAE. Karachi’s Lakhani Builders, which started its operations in the UAE a few months ago to target non-resident Pakistanis, has already noted a strong demand for its projects. Younus Lakhani, CEO, Lakhani Builders, says, “We have conducted a survey on the real estate needs of Pakistanis living in the Middle East, and there is a demand for quality houses and apartments in Pakistan. Currently, we are promoting Lakhani Presidency in the UAE, which is worth about 110 million Pakistani rupees. We have plans to launch another residential project for overseas Pakistanis.”
While thousands of Pakistanis visit the UAE every year for business and leisure, an estimated 4,000 Emiratis visited Pakistan last year. “We hope this number will grow as Pakistan improves tourism facilities in the country, especially in the Northern areas, and the law and order situation improves further. About 50,000 Pakistanis travel weekly between the two countries. With the enhanced frequency of flights between the two countries — currently, around 150 flights operate each week — this number is likely to increase,” says Durrani.
The UAE has undertaken various initiatives to offer humanitarian assistance to Pakistan, especially under the UAE Pakistan Assistance Programme (UAE PAP), which was launched in 2011. “Pakistan values the UAE’s contribution to our development,” says Durrani in his Independence Day message.
“The swift and substantial assistance extended by the UAE government to provide relief to the victims of natural calamity epitomises this cooperation. UAE teams have always been among the first to participate in rescue and relief operations.
“More recently, the UAE’s assistance in polio eradication as well as relief goods for the temporarily dislocated people of North Waziristan have been much appreciated by the government and people of Pakistan.”
Local initiatives
According to a Gulf News report, UAE PAP has spent $300 million on projects in the country. Pakistan’s embassy in the UAE also plans to launch a number of initiatives to enhance bilateral relations.
“We celebrated National Day on March 23 with an exhibition by the Pakistan Engineering Council. To promote cultural activities, the embassy hosted and co-sponsored a number of mushairas (poetry recitals).
“We are working with the Abu Dhabi police and Embassy of Austria to organise a workshop on road safety for Pakistani drivers in the UAE. There are also sociocultural activities planned for the year,” he says.
