Foreign Minister’s Official Visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
(2012-02-27)
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and the Foreign Minister of the UAE, HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nayhan, as co-chairs of Pak-UAE Joint Ministerial Commission signed the Minutes of the 10thSession of Pak-UAE Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) at the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, today.
The Foreign Minister also held bilateral talks with her UAE counterpart. Both Ministers expressed their satisfaction on the signing of the Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced persons, which would go a long in integrating and rehabilitating the current inmates into society & with their families.
The two Foreign Ministers stated that the tangible decisions reached in the 10th Session of the JMC would further strengthen, expand and diversify the deep rooted relationship between the two countries.
The Foreign Minister of the UAE especially appreciated Pakistan’s role in promoting peace and stability in the region and reiterated keen interest in investing in various sectors of Pakistan particularly in the renewable energy through specialized projects such as the MASDAR City project for renewable energy in the UAE.
The Foreign Minister underlined that JMC was an excellent mechanism for developing new vehicles of cooperation and building new flagships especially in bilateral, commerce and trade as well as investments from the UAE. The Minister, inter alia, asked her counterpart to reconsider the establishment of Pak-UAE Joint Investment Company, the UAE’s support for the third round of negotiations of Free Trade Agreement with GCC, implementation of Khalifa Coastal Refinery Project and release of funds for Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project.
The Foreign Minister invited her counterpart to join her in the launching of Pakistan Cultural Week which would be held in the UAE soon. The Foreign Minister of the UAE accepted the invitation and stated that the UAE was proud that Pakistan had chosen the UAE as one of the six countries in which the Cultural Week would be showcased.
During her meeting with the UAE Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, HH Sh. Nahyan Bin Mubarik, the Foreign Minister appreciated his existing investments in Pakistan and expressed the hope the he would continue to make new investments in Pakistan, especially in the Energy and power sectors.
The Foreign Minister visited the Embassy of Pakistan in Abu Dhabi and addressed the assembled community members and assured them of government’s full support in promoting their welfare in every respect.
Islamabad
27 February 2012