Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces has arrived in Pakistan on Thursday on a one-day visit.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan received Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed at the Nur Khan Base with guard of honour.
According to a statement issued by Pakistan Foreign Office, Sheikh Mohamed is visiting Islamabad accompanied by a high-level delegation. He last visited Pakistan in January 2019.
During the visit, Sheikh Mohamed will have a one-on-one meeting with Imran Khan. This will be followed by a luncheon hosted by the Prime Minister.
The exchange of views between the two leaders will cover bilateral matters and regional and international issues of common interest.
“Frequent exchange of high-level visits between Pakistan and the UAE is reflective of the importance that the two countries attach to their fraternal ties. The visit illustrates the strength and substance of the Pakistan-UAE special relationship, based on commonalities of faith, cultural affinities, and a shared resolve to take mutual cooperation to a new level,” says the Foreign Office statement.
The UAE is Pakistan’s largest trading partner in the Middle East and a major source of investments. The UAE is also among Pakistan’s prime development partners in education, health and energy sectors. It hosts more than 1.6 million expatriate Pakistani community, which contributes remittances of around $4.5 billion annually to the GDP.
The visit of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed, the statement added, would contribute to further enhancement of multi-faceted collaboration between Pakistan and the UAE.
During his meeting with Mohamed Bin Zayed and Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan discussed bilateral relations and ways to take them further in the best interests of the two countries and peoples.
The talks touched upon the overall situation in the Middle East, the Arabian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent and the entire Muslim world. The two leaders exchanged views on the regional and international issues of common concern.
Shaikh Mohammad congratulated Khan and the Pakistani people on the occasion of the New Year, wishing that 2020 will be a year of good, peace and development in Pakistan and the whole world. He highlighted the depth of UAE-Pakistan relations and ties of friendship binding the two countries .
Strategic partnership
Shaikh Mohammad underlined Pakistan’s strategic political weight with regard to regional security and peace, in addition to being a strategic depth for the Arabian Gulf region, especially in light of the deep historical, cultural, geographical and social ties bind the two sides for hundreds of years.
He reiterated the UAE's firm position in supporting peace, stability and dialogue in the Indian subcontinent for the benefit of its people, adding that this region is of great strategic importance to security in Asia, the GCC region and the world as well. Shaikh Mohammad pointed out that Pakistan is an essential pillar of joint action within the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC(, stressing the UAE's support for OIC and the important role it plays to serve the Islamic world’s causes.
Pakistan's efforts praised
He praised Pakistan's position and its keenness on the unity of OIC) as the institutional framework for Islamic countries around the world, a position that exemplifies Islamic values that call for cooperation, peace, acquaintance and rejection of hate, extremism and violence, whatever their source.
The Pakistani premier welcomed Shaikh Mohammad and his delegation and wished the UAE and its people greater progress and prosperity during 2020 and reaffirmed the strength of his country’s ties with the UAE
Khan voiced his great appreciation of the UAE's support for Pakistan's economy and development. He thanked Shaikh Mohammad for his keen interest in strengthening bilateral relations and pushing them forward, referring to his crucial role in supporting development and peace in the regional and international arenas.
