ISLAMABAD – The United Arab Emirates(UAE) Ambassador to Islamabad HamadObaid Alzaabi said on Sunday Pakistan-UAE historical relations and sharedvision of their dynamic leadership provided a strong basis for tapping thereal potential of their economic relations for the mutual benefit.

“The most important thing is that we have the same vision, ideas as bothPakistan and the UAE are focusing on counter-terrorism and extremism,promotion of health and education” he told APP in an exclusive interviewhere.Imran Khan took over as the Prime Minister on Saturday and is gearing up toface the challenges ahead of him.

Both the countries have massive economic potential hence they “have chancesfor investment and they should encourage their businessmen to invest tohelp bolster trade between the two sides.”

They should work out a road map to support their businessmen who canutilize the already existing cooperation base in form of the BusinessCouncil to find out how to do it, said the envoy who had called on ImranKhan soon after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf victory in the general election onJuly 25.

Emphasizing the importance of Pakistan’s stability, he said UAE “supportsPakistan in facing the terrorism challenges and appreciates the efforts ofPakistan in the fight against this menace.”

“The UAE is committed to implement more welfare – development projects withaim to bring prosperity and progress and development in Pakistan,” said theambassador.

It will continue to work for “more strengthening the economic relations andincreasing the bilateral trade volume and encouraging the investmentbetween two countries.”Referring to his series of meetings to further spike the bilateral trade,the envoy said “the volume of current bilateral trade although issatisfactory but dedicated efforts are needed from both sides to furtherimprove two-way trade.”

The total trade volume between the two countries is around $8.19 billion,which is not reflective of our friendly relations and potential availablein the two countries.“There are immense possibilities and huge potential of joint ventures andcooperation in various sectors, which might be exploited optimally toimprove trade,” said.

The UAE has signed a cooperation agreement worth US $ 200 million withinthe “UAE Pakistan Assistance program” to implement the third phase of thedevelopment projects which will be funded by the Abu Dhabi Fund forDevelopment, said the ambassador. The third phase will focus on health,education and water projects in Baluchistan province. The envoy said it waslaunched in 2011 on the directions of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan,President of the UAE, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces to helpPakistan overcome impact of the devastating flood.

When questioned on EXPO 2020 Dubai with the theme of “Connect Minds andMake the Future,” Obaid said it would be a great opportunity for Pakistanto showcase its potential and products to lure in investors.

He said the UAE appreciated overseas Pakistanis contribution in itsdevelopment and prosperity. The demand for skilled labor of Pakistan in theUAE market is very high in view of huge opportunities so they can takeadvantage of these opportunities, he added.Replying a question on the Gwadar Port, the envoy said, it was not acompeting project rather it complements the ports of the UAE and itsinternational shipping. The UAE “supports this project and is keen tocooperate with Pakistan in this field as it will help increase bilateraltrade” between the countries.

It is worth mentioning that Chinese President Xi Jinping chose the UAE thefirst destination of his first foreign trip after his re-election as thepresident of China. During his visit Jinping signed with UAE two agreementsrelated to the Silk Road Project and this was the evidence that the Gwadarport would connect China with the world .

He said there were many development and social projects which is beingbuilt with the support of UAE in Gwadar city, including the WaterDesalination Project, which foundation was laid in March 2018, and will bebuilt with the support of the United Arab Emirates, the project will becompleted within 6 to 8 months, and will provide 4.4 million gallons ofwater per day to the residents of the Gwadar area with the ability toincrease its capacity to 8.8 million gallons of water per day, said theambassador.