UAE wants to work on new ‘economic roadmap’ to boost trade ties with Pakistan

According to UAE Ambassador to Pakistan Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Alzaabi, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates have massive potential to bolster bilateral trade. He expressed that the UAE was willing to work with Pakistan on creating a new economic roadmap to take their bilateral trade and economic relations to the next level.

The envoy made these comments during a meeting with Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) President Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan. The two dignitaries exchanged views on trade relationships between the two countries and discussed the possibility of exploring further opportunities for boosting bilateral trade.

The UAE ambassador said that he visited Faisalabad and Sialkot and saw that Pakistan has great potential to export many products to the UAE.

He encouraged Pakistani manufacturers to properly market their exportable products to boost exports up to their actual potential.

Alzaabi went on to say that Pakistani meat products are going to Jordan and other countries from the UAE, which showed that Pakistan could make a significant increase in its exports by getting better penetration in the UAE market.

In a comparison with India, the envoy talked about how the UAE-India bilateral trade is worth around $75 billion, but the UAE-Pakistan trade is worth just around $14 billion. This further underscored his point that UAE-Pakistan trade wasn’t quite living up to its true potential and that both countries need to make efforts to enhance it.

The envoy said that Pakistan should improve its legal framework and formulate more business friendly policies to attract more FDI from the UAE.

“The Pakistan Business Council UAE should play a more proactive role in improving bilateral trade and investment relations between the two countries,” he commented.

He said that more than 7,000 Pakistani companies are registered in the UAE and he “is ready to play a role to address the challenges being faced by them in his country”.

Meanwhile, the ICCI president spoke on the occasion to declare that the two countries enjoyed friendly relations and that the UAE has always been there for Pakistan during times of need. He agreed that efforts should be made to transform their relationship into something more valuable, and he stressed that UAE investors should explore more investment opportunities in Pakistan.