Pakistan minister discusses defence ties with UAE ambassador

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Minister for Defence Production in a meeting with the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Pakistan explored the possibility to further develop defence ties between the two countries.

Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Defence Production Zobaida Jalal held a meeting with the Ambassador of UAE Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi and lauded the indigenisation and technological advancement of UAE’s defence industry under the UAE Vision 2030, which lays emphasis on aviation, aerospace and defence sectors.

Zobaida Jalal underlined the government of Pakistan’s desire and commitment to work closely with UAE in the defence industrial domain. Describing Pakistan government’s policy of encouraging public private partnership in the defence industry, she said that there were areas of mutual interest and benefits to be explored by both the countries under the UAE Vision 2030.

Minister for Defence Production conveyed to the UAE envoy that Pakistan greatly valued its relations with the Gulf state and considers UAE as “an important and long-standing partner in the Middle East.”

The UAE Ambassador highlighted the need and resolve by the UAE side for working together with Pakistan in all spheres of civil and defence fields of collaboration. Hamad Al Zaabi also appreciated the joint efforts of the two countries in the fight against COVID-19 and termed it a success story against the pandemic. The increased collaboration between the two countries would provide a new impetus to the bilateral ties, the two sides maintained.

The UAE Ambassador also extended an invitation to Minister Zobaida Jalal to attend the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) 2021 being held in February in the UAE. IDEX is one of the leading international defence exhibitions and conference in the MENA region that showcases the latest technology across land, sea and air sectors of defence.