Pakistan PM heads to UAE for daylong visit, talks with president
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif departed for the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday for a daylong official visit to meet President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and hold talks with the UAE leadership, the Pakistani government said.
The trip comes amid Pakistan's efforts to deepen strategic and economic ties with Gulf nations, especially the UAE, which has remained a key financial and diplomatic partner.
'Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, accompanied by a delegation, has departed from Islamabad for a one-day official visit to the United Arab Emirates,' his office said in a statement. 'He is undertaking the visit on the invitation of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi,' it continued. 'The Prime Minister will meet the UAE leadership during the visit.'
The UAE is Pakistan's third-largest trading partner, home to over a million Pakistani expatriates, and a critical source of investment. It played a key role in helping Pakistan avert a balance-of-payments crisis in recent years by depositing funds in the central bank, which facilitated a bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
According to a statement issued by the foreign office a day earlier, Sharif is expected to follow up on more than $3 billion in cooperation agreements signed during his earlier visit in January 2024.
In a phone call last month, Sharif and the UAE president discussed bilateral ties and regional security following a sharp military escalation between Pakistan and India.
Islamabad praised the UAE's 'constructive diplomatic role' during the crisis.
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