Islamabad (TDI): The newly appointed Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Pakistan, Salem M. Salem AlBawab Al Zaabi, met with Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb at the Finance Division on Thursday.
Ambassador Al Zaabi began by expressing his gratitude for the warm reception he has received since taking up his assignment in Pakistan. He highlighted the deep-rooted ties between the people of Pakistan and the UAE, noting the longstanding contributions of Pakistani professionals in sectors including banking, finance, defense, and public administration. He said further strengthening strategic, economic, and cultural cooperation would be among his foremost priorities.
Senator Aurangzeb welcomed the Ambassador and reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to further nurturing its strong, brotherly partnership with the UAE. He acknowledged the UAE’s consistent support to Pakistan across multiple channels like trade, investment, remittances, government financing, and crucial backing in engagements with international financial institutions. He added that the frequent high-level visits between the leadership of both countries reflect the depth and resilience of these ties.
The Minister emphasized that Pakistan’s economic policy direction is firmly oriented toward expanding trade and attracting long-term investment, moving beyond traditional support mechanisms. He appreciated ongoing UAE investments in key sectors such as ports, digital banking, logistics, and infrastructure and encouraged further participation from UAE sovereign funds, private sector entities, and multinational corporations.
He highlighted Pakistan’s significant potential in IT, AI, fintech, agriculture, minerals, logistics, and higher education collaboration.
Ambassador Al Zaabi informed the Minister that expanding economic cooperation remains one of his foremost objectives. He expressed the UAE’s strong interest in enhancing bilateral trade volumes, attracting Pakistani businesses and technology firms to the UAE, and bringing more UAE investors to Pakistan. He referenced ongoing engagement with companies in sectors including agriculture, infrastructure, mining, ports, financial services, and virtual assets.
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The Ambassador also briefed Aurangzeb on the UAE government’s major reforms in visa facilitation for Pakistani nationals. He stated that nearly 500 visas are being processed daily and explained that new measures, including online visa processing, e-visas without passport stamping, and enhanced system-to-system linkages with relevant Pakistani authorities, are being implemented to further streamline travel for businesspersons and visitors. A dedicated UAE visa centre, newly opened in Pakistan, will also help expedite processing.
The finance minister welcomed these developments, noting that smoother mobility is crucial for strengthening business-to-business exchanges, especially given the UAE’s position as a global hub for investment, trade shows, and technology exhibitions.
The meeting also touched upon ongoing defense cooperation, training exchanges, and historical military collaboration between the two countries with Ambassador Al Zaabi expressing strong commitment to further enhancing during his tenure.
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Aurangzeb briefed the Ambassador on Pakistan’s improving macroeconomic indicators, including stable foreign exchange reserves, declining inflation, a stronger currency outlook, and increased remittances, particularly from the UAE. He highlighted that Pakistan is now moving toward a growth-focused agenda centred on private-sector-led and investment-driven expansion.
Both sides reaffirmed their resolve to deepen cooperation across all areas of mutual interest, particularly trade, investment, finance, technology, defense, and people-to-people exchanges. They agreed to continue working closely to leverage the immense potential that exists between the two brotherly nations.
Sohail Majeed
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
