UAE will always stand by Pakistan: President Sheikh Mohamed

RAHIM YAR KHAN: United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has said that his country will always stand by Pakistan as he considered Pakistan his second home.

The UAE president expressed these views in a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif here.

During the meeting, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed their resolve to further boost the ties between the two countries in all fields.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who arrived here on a private visit, said that the brotherly relations between the two countries went back many decades and his father, who had immense love for Pakistan and its people, laid the foundation of their bilateral ties.

According to local media reports, the UAE President hinted that his country was planning to enhance investment in Pakistan. “Be prepared, the UAE will make a huge investment in Pakistan,” sources quoted the UAE president as saying.

Earlier this month, Information Minister Marriyum Aurengzeb said the United Arab Emirates had agreed to lend $1 billion to Pakistan and roll over an existing $2 billion loan.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif received the UAE President at the Chandna Airport. The welcome party included Minister for Information Marriyum Aurengzeb, Punjab’s Caretaker Chief Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi and Special Assistants to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi and Attaullah Tarar.

According to a statement of the PM Office, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and recalled his recent visit to the UAE. He emphasised that both countries would work on the understandings reached between the two leaders during that visit.