UAE crown prince arrives in Pakistan on day-long visit

Prince Al Nahyan will have a one-on-one meeting with PM Imran and other senior govt officials. Photo: AFP 

Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Islamabad on Thursday with a high-level delegation for a day-long visit. 

According to Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui, during the visit the crown prince will have a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan followed by a luncheon hosted by the premier.

Read more: Abu Dhabi Crown Prince named Arab world's most influential leader of 2019 

The crown prince is also expected to hold meetings with other senior government officials during his visit.

The visit comes after the crown prince met Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa on December 14. In the meeting between the two, ways to enhance cooperation between the two countries were discussed.

The visit by Prince Al Nahyan illustrates the strength of the Pakistan-United Arab Emirates (UAE) relationship. The UAE is Pakistan’s largest trading partner in the Middle East and a major source of investments.

The UAE is also among Pakistan’s prime development partners in education, health and energy sectors.

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Last year, Sheikh Al Nahyan had visited Pakistan for one-on-one meetings with PM Imran, followed by delegation-level talks.

This is also the second visit by an Arab leader in just two weeks. Last month, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud had visited Pakistan for a day-long trip.

The Saudi official had dropped by after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last month that Riyadh had issued economic threats to Pakistan to pressurise it into withdrawing from a gathering of leaders of Islamic nations in Malaysia.

The Saudi Embassy in Islamabad dismissed reports that it had pressured Pakistan to pull out of the summit.

PM Imran Khan had cancelled his appearance at the Kuala Lumpur summit after a visit to Riyadh for a meeting with the Saudi leadership.