Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Monday said that Pakistan wanted to translate the tremendous political goodwill with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) into a stronger economic partnership.

He was talking to the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Pakistan, Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi who paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister.

The Ambassador congratulated the Prime Minister on his re-election and conveyed the best wishes of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and hoped that the strong fraternal ties between the two countries would be strengthened further in the years ahead.

The Prime Minister thanked the UAE leadership for their warm messages of greetings and conveyed his best wishes for President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Recalling the historic ties between Pakistan and the UAE, the Prime Minister said Pakistan attached great importance to its brotherly relations with UAE The two countries had always supported each other and there was a strong desire on both sides to elevate the relationship to a higher level, the PM added.

Noting the exciting transformation of the UAE into a hub for commerce, tourism, and investment, the Prime Minister said Pakistan wanted to partner with the UAE He highlighted the role of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) as an efficient mechanism to attract foreign investment into priority sectors including agriculture, minerals & mining, I.T., renewable energy and industry.

On the multilateral side, the Prime Minister congratulated the UAE for successfully hosting the COP 28 meeting on climate change last year as well as its efforts to bring peace in Gaza while serving as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. He also appreciated the UAE for hosting nearly 1.8 million Pakistanis who were a bridge between the two countries.

The Ambassador reaffirmed the UAE leadership’s commitment to Pakistan and said that the UAE looked forward to working with the government of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif to build stronger ties.

The Ambassador extended an invitation to the Prime Minister on behalf of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to visit the UAE at the earliest convenience.

While accepting the invitation, the Prime Minister also reiterated an invitation to the President of UAE to visit Pakistan at his earliest convenience and said the people of Pakistan were waiting to accord him a very warm welcome.