ISLAMABAD
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has urged the UAE investors to explore the Pakistani market for new avenues and enhance economic and commercial ties with Pakistan.
In an exclusive interview with Gulf Today, the Prime Minister said there are numerous investment opportunities available in Pakistan for UAE investors. The Prime Minister said Pakistan enjoys a very historic, cultural and fraternal relationship with the UAE. The two countries could further enhance this cooperation in areas such as agriculture, energy, mining, IT, logistics and defence.
To a question he said that Pakistan and the UAE enjoy time-tested fraternal relations rooted deep in common faith, shared history and people to people contacts. The foundation of our strong relations was laid by His Highness (Late) Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and nurtured by the successive leaderships of both the countries through close contacts and bilateral visits.
The UAE and Pakistan enjoy an all-encompassing strategic relationship. This is a relationship that is characterised by solidarity and understanding resulting from our strong leadership level contacts and close cooperation on regional and international issues over the years.
“The UAE and Pakistan enjoy an all-encompassing strategic relationship. This is a relationship that is characterised by solidarity and understanding resulting from our strong leadership level contacts and close cooperation on regional and international issues over the years,” he said.
To another question, he said that the UAE remains Pakistan’s largest trading partner in the Middle East North Africa (Mena) region with an average annual trade of $9 billion. The UAE is one of the top export destinations for Pakistan. Overall Pakistan and the UAE enjoy complementarity of economies. Pakistan’s exports to the UAE include agriculture products, textiles and manpower.
The UAE, on the other hand, exports petroleum, petrochemical products and hi-tech equipment to Pakistan. The two countries also exchange services with each other. IT, AI and Fin-tech are new areas of collaboration with much greater potential. Pakistan-UAE bilateral trade during 2022-23 amounted to $9 billion.
Importantly Pakistan’s exports to UAE have surged to $1.4 billion in FY 2022-23, highest in the last five years. The Prime Minister said Pakistan is planning a comprehensive investment promotion strategy in major countries including the UAE. Pakistan Investment Road Show, organized by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) in Dubai, attracted a large number of global businessmen and investors.
“Pakistan is planning a comprehensive investment promotion strategy in major countries including the UAE. The Pakistan Investment Road Show, organised by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) in Dubai, attracted a large number of global businessmen and investors,” he said.
He said the officials of SIFC held extensive engagements with global investors, highlighting immense potential and investment opportunities in Pakistan. He said utilizing the platform, 30 Pakistani firms presented their project proposals and growth strategies encompassing various domains including Agriculture, IT and Energy.
Responding to a question, Anwaar ul Haq Kakar said Pakistan wholeheartedly appreciates the efforts of the UAE government in hosting the COP28. Alluding to the challenge posed by climate change, he said all affected countries urgently need to shift to Climate Adaptation.
He asserted that this decade is decisive for climate action. Failure to act immediately will lead to worse devastation on an unprecedented scale. He said implementing the commitments is essential for which framing the means of implementation is pivotal.
He said we need to adopt a framework which is based on fast track energy transition and agreement on climate finance goal. He said the developing countries require around 2.4 trillion dollars in annual investment by 2030 focusing on adaptation, resilience and mitigating loss and damage.
Attracting foreign investment in all sectors of Pakistan’s economy is the government’s top priority. Pakistan’s Investment Policy has been designed to provide a comprehensive framework for creating a conducive business environment for attraction of FDI from all parts of the world including the UAE. The policy trends are consistent with liberalisation, deregulation, privatisation, and facilitation being its foremost cornerstone. The country is open for all types of businesses.
Currently, there are over 1,000 multinational companies profitably operating in Pakistan, and for many, Pakistan is the most profitable part of their franchise. Foreign companies, individuals, multinational corporations can own 100 per cent shares in locally incorporated or unincorporated firms.
In order to enhance bilateral investment co-operation between Pakistan and the UAE, let me allow mentioning here that Pakistan enjoys a very historic, cultural and fraternal relationship with the UAE. However, there is much need to enhance investment cooperation. The two countries could further enhance this cooperation in areas such as agriculture, energy, mining, IT, logistics and defence.
The climate reports released most recently like, Emissions Gap Report, Global Stocktake Report and Adaptation Gap Report all do not present a good state of affairs and identify that human actions are far behind the commitments, asserting this decade is decisive for climate action. Failure to act immediately will lead to worse devastation on an unprecedented scale.
The Prime Minister said that Pakistan holds the belief that with collective action based on Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR) we can make a common ground and in getting to this we need to adopt a framework which is based on fast track energy transition, agreement on climate finance goal – in recognition that the developing countries require around $2.4 trillion in annual investment by 2030 focusing on adaptation, resilience, mitigating loss and damage.
Overseas Pakistanis in the UAE, like those in other countries, contribute significantly to Pakistan’s economy through remittances. The UAE is home to 1.8 million Pakistani expatriates, and their remittances play a vital role in stabilising the country’s economy, he said.
He said that these remittances contribute to foreign exchange reserves, help in poverty reduction, and support the financial well-being of families in Pakistan. Pakistani workers’ remittances inflow of $ 8.8 billion has been recorded during the first four months of Financial Year 2023-24; out of this an amount of $1,497.6 million has been received as remittances from the UAE.
“Further, sending remittances through legal banking channels brings several positive impacts. It makes a substantial contribution to the national economy with the funds being tracked, measuredand utilised for economic development and ensures financial security for both the sender and the recipient by reducing the risks associated with fraud or loss,” he added.
