PM Imran Khan meets UAE crown prince Sheikh Mohammed in Islamabad
UAE has announced to grant a support package of about $6.2 billion for Pakistan.
(Web Desk) - The red carpet was rolled out for the UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan in Islamabad to officially announce a support package of about $6.2 billion for Pakistan on Sunday.
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Reportedly, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan welcomed the crown prince at the Nur Khan airbase, where an artillery unit honored him with a 21-gun salute.
The PM himself drove him to the Prime Minister House in Islamabad where he was given a guard of honour and a fly-past of JF-17 Thunders.
Moreover, all relevant terms and conditions have been finalised before UAE inducts $3 billion cash into the economy of Pakistan and another $3.2 billion worth of oil supplies on deferred payments for one year, thereby enabling the country to recover from its economic crisis.
Al Nahyan, who is also deputy chief of the UAE s armed forces, held a one-on-one meeting with PM Khan, followed by a high-level delegation talks.
The Emirate prince also met members of the federal cabinet including Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Finance Minister Asad Umar, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, Power Minister Omar Ayub Khan, Planning and Development Minister Khusro Bakhtiar, Minister of State for Interior Shahryar Afridi, and Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari.
The two sides discussed bilateral relations, matters of mutual, regional and international interest.
"They resolved to take all necessary measures to deal with matters related to trade enhancement, and decided to form a Task Force to achieve this objective," said a joint statement issued after talks ended.
The statement quoted Khan as saying that "this financial support shows the UAE s continued commitment and friendship that has remained steadfast over the years".
He thanked the crown prince for the "generous" balance-of-payments support of $3 billion.
In December 2018, UAE officially announced that it would assist Pakistan to help it overcome international payment crisis and to avoid the deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which contained strict terms and conditions.
“UAE has announced its intention to deposit US$3 billion (equivalent to AED11 billion) in the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to support the financial and monetary policy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) said in a statement published by WAM news agency.
The Pakistani rupee had plunged almost five percent to a record low at the end of November, after what appeared to be the sixth devaluation by the central bank in the past year.
A high-level delegation has been accompanying the crown prince. This is the third interaction between the leadership of Pakistan and UAE in less than three months, which is a testimony to the special nature of brotherly relations between the two countries.
UAE is Pakistan’s largest trading partner in the Middle East and a major source of investments in education, health, energy and infrastructure development. It is home to more than 1.6 million expatriate community which contributes around 4.5 billion dollars annually to the GDP.
Both countries have been working to transform the existing relations into a “Long-Term Strategic Economic Partnership”, as it was agreed between the two leaders during PM Imran Khan’s visit to UAE on November 18th in 2018.
Moreover, the country to recover from its economic crisis has been supported by another $1.5 billion trade finance from the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC).
Earlier, Pakistan received $2 billion in cash from Saudi Arabia at an interest rate of 3.18 percent, whereas the third tranche of $1 billion is due in the first week of February.
Islamabad has also received billions of dollars in Chinese loans to finance ambitious infrastructure projects in the country.
In November, a team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had visited Pakistan to discuss a possible bailout with officials but talks ended without an agreement.
The crown prince departed for the UAE around 3pm on Sunday after conducting back-to-back meetings.
The crown prince last visited Pakistan in January 2007.
