Zardari meets Dubai ruler Sheikh Rashid Al Maktoum, seeks stronger UAE investment in Pakistan

President Asif Ali Zardari met His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, at Zabeel Palace, where both leaders discussed expanding economic, trade and investment cooperation between Pakistan and the UAE.

During the meeting, President Zardari congratulated Sheikh Rashid Al Maktoum on completing two decades as ruler of Dubai and praised the emirate’s transformation into a global hub for tourism, finance and emerging technologies. The two sides exchanged views on how Pakistan could benefit from Dubai’s development model, particularly in ports, logistics, infrastructure, information technology and digital financial services.

The president highlighted Pakistan’s ongoing economic reforms, including steps to facilitate investment and privatisation and explored opportunities for deeper collaboration with the UAE in infrastructure development, logistics, food security and technology-driven sectors. He also extended an invitation to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to visit Pakistan.

Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the longstanding brotherly relations between Pakistan and the UAE and expressed satisfaction with the positive trajectory of bilateral ties. They emphasized the importance of high-level exchanges and recalled the recent visit of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Pakistan, acknowledging the UAE’s continued support for Pakistan’s economic development.

The leaders also recognized the significant contribution of the Pakistani community in the UAE in strengthening people-to-people connections between the two nations.

The meeting was attended by First Lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Chairman of Pakistan People's Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UAE.