UAE keen to lift trade ties with Pakistan
PHOTO: REUTERS
Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have great potential to further improve bilateral trade and the UAE is keen to work on a new economic roadmap to take trade and economic relations to higher levels, said Ambassador of UAE to Pakistan Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Alzaabi.
During a meeting with Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, the ambassador said he visited Faisalabad and Sialkot where he observed that +Pakistan had great potential to export many products to the UAE.
He emphasised that Pakistani manufacturers should do proper marketing of their exportable products for boosting exports to their actual potential. Alzaabi acknowledged that Pakistan had helped the UAE in ensuring food security during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He pointed out that Pakistani meat products were going to Jordan and other countries from the UAE, which showed that Pakistan could make a significant increase in its exports through better penetration into the UAE market.
The envoy lamented that UAE-India trade was around $75 billion, but UAE-Pakistan trade was around $14 billion, which was quite less than the potential of both countries and required more efforts to enhance it. He stressed that Pakistan should improve its legal framework and formulate more business-friendly policies to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) from the UAE.
The ambassador said Pakistan Business Council should play a proactive role in improving trade and investment relations between the two countries.
“Over 7,000 Pakistani companies are registered in the UAE,” he said, adding that he was ready to help address the challenges being faced by them in his country.
Speaking on the occasion, ICCI President Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan acknowledged that the UAE had always stood with Pakistan and provided crucial support in times of need, which was commendable.
He said Pakistan and the UAE enjoyed close friendly relations that should be transformed into growing trade and economic ties. He pointed out that the cost of production in Pakistan was quite low, therefore, UAE investors should explore opportunities of joint ventures and investment in Pakistan that would help in promoting exports to the Middle East, Europe and other countries.
“Despite a great potential for trade cooperation, the communication gap is holding back entrepreneurs of both countries from realising the actual potential,” he lamented.
Khan emphasised that Pakistan and the UAE should facilitate direct connectivity between their private sectors that would help in exploring new avenues of trade cooperation.
Discussing the visa restrictions on Pakistanis, the ICCI chief proposed that the UAE should finalise separate visa criteria for Pakistani businessmen in order to facilitate them in visiting the emirate so that business and economic relations could flourish.
ICCI Senior Vice President Fatma Azim and Vice President Abdul Rehman Khan said many Pakistani products including mangoes, dry fruits, leather products, pharmaceutical goods, surgical instruments and others could find a good market in the UAE.
“UAE should focus on importing these products from Pakistan that are very competitive in terms of price and quality,” they stated.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 24th, 2020.
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