Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday departed for the United Arab Emirates on a day-long visit, where he is expected to discuss trade and investment with the Gulf nation’s president.
In a post on X, the government said the premier departed for the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.
According to a press release issued by the Foreign Office, this is PM Shehbaz’s first visit to the UAE since assuming his office after the February 8 general elections.
The prime minister is accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising key cabinet members, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan and Special Assistant to PM Tariq Fatemi.
During the visit, PM Shehbaz is expected to meet UAE President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the FO had said earlier.
The two leaders will discuss bilateral relations between Pakistan and the UAE with a “special focus on trade and investment”, it had stated.
According to the FO, the premier is also likely to hold meetings with other Emirati dignitaries, businesspersons and heads of financial institutions.
The FO, noting that both countries have “long-standing fraternal relations deep-rooted in religio-cultural affinity”, had said that such high-level exchanges form a “distinguishing feature” of brotherly ties between Pakistan and the UAE.
The visit marks an important step towards further deepening multifaceted bilateral collaboration between Pakistan and the UAE, the FO had highlighted.
The premier’s visit follows high-level exchanges between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in the past two months, which include two trips made to the kingdom in April.
Shehbaz last visited the UAE in July 2023 — during his previous term as the prime minister — to console the death of the UAE President’s brother, Sheikh Saeed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
Prior to that, he made a two-day trip to the Gulf nation in January 2023 to strengthen economic, trade and investment ties with the country.
