ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Sunday embarked on a seven-day official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait.

A senior official of the Prime Minister House told Dawn that during his seven-day trip, PM Kakar will stay in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Dubai.

The PM will spend three days in Abu Dhabi and two days in Kuwait on bilateral visits and then he will proceed to Dubai to attend 28th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP-28) on Dec 1 and 2. He will return to the country on Dec 3.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), PM Kakar arrived in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

Premier to attend COP28; MoUs to be signed with UAE and Kuwait

UAE’s Minister of Justice Abdullah Sultan bin Awad Al Nuaimi and Pakistani diplomatic officials welcomed the prime minister at Al Bateen Airport, Abu Dhabi.

During the visit on Nov 26-28, the prime minister will meet President of the UAE Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

“This engagement will provide an opportunity to advance bilateral ties in all spheres including political, economic, trade, investment, cultural, defence and people-to-people relations,” the Foreign Office spokesperson said in an earlier press statement.

The visit will include the signing of MoUs between Pakistan and the UAE in a range of areas, including investment cooperation in the sectors of energy, port operations projects, waste water treatment, food security, logistics, mining, aviation, and banking and financial services.

“Pakistan and the UAE enjoy warm and long-standing fraternal ties that have stood multiple tests of time,” it was added.

The premier will then pay a two-day bilateral visit to Kuwait on Nov 28-29 where he will meet the top Kuwaiti leadership. Some MoUs are also expected to be inked during the visit.

PM Kakar will also participate in COP28 in Dubai on Dec 1-2. The summit will continue till Dec 12, but the PM will attend the main session, along with many heads of states. Later, technical sessions will start, which will be attended by officials and not world leaders, said the PMO official.

In a recent meeting the PM had said Pakistan would update the world at the COP28 conference about its experiences in the wake of climate change.

During the meeting the prime minister was apprised about the national strategy for disaster management.

It was highlighted that Pakistan was among the countries that were facing the consequences of climate change in the shape of glacier melting, floods, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF), avalanches, landslides, and forest fires.

Many cities in Punjab, especially Lahore, are currently the worst hit by air pollution — smog. As a result, lockdowns have been enforced in many places in the provincial capital of Punjab. According to media reports, Lahore is said to be the second worst city hit by air pollution.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2023