اردو
  • Abu Dhabi crown prince arrives in Pakistan

    The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan  arrives in Pakistan File Photo The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrives in Pakistan

     

    Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Sunday arrived in Pakistan on an official visit.

    Prime Minister Imran Khan, along with his Cabinet members, received the foreign dignitary at the Nur Khan Air Base.

    Later, the UAE crown prince was driven to the Prime Minister Secretariat by premier Khan himself.

    Sources relayed that the prime minister will hold a meeting with the crown prince to discuss bilateral ties and other regional and international issues of mutual interest.

    Federal ministers, advisers and special assistants to PM, top military leadership as well as key government officials have been invited for the luncheon.

    According to a press release by the Foreign Office, the Abu Dhabi crown prince will have a one-on-one meeting with the prime minister, followed by delegation-level talks.

    This is the third interaction between the leadership of Pakistan and UAE in less than three months.

    UAE is Pakistan’s largest trading partner in the Middle East and a major source of investments.

    It is home to more than 1.6 million expatriate community which contributes around $4.5 billion annually to the GDP, the press release added.

    Pakistan and UAE are already working closely to transform the existing special relations into a “Long-Term Strategic Economic Partnership”, as agreed between the two leaders during the prime minister’s visit to UAE on November 18.

    UAE had pledged $3 billion to support Pakistan overcome its balance of payment crisis while the provision to provide deferred payment for oil facility is under discussion.

    Pakistan is likely to get oil worth $3.2 billion on deferred payments from UAE this month.

    Further, sources in the Petroleum Division said the crown prince is expected to announce the facility for Pakistan during his visit to the country.

    Sources added that Pakistan is also likely to get $1.5 billion loan from Islamic Development Bank's International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) for the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on deferred payment facility.

    Currently, Pakistan is importing LNG worth $4.5 billion annually.