Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday reiterated his resolve to “elevate” the country’s longstanding ties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) into a strategic and mutually beneficial economic partnership as he met President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Rahim Yar Khan, a press release from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) stated.

Al-Nahyan undertook his first official visit to Pakistan last Friday, where “substantive talks” took place, focused on further strengthening the longstanding fraternal relations between the two countries.

According to the PMO’s statement, PM Shehbaz, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and other officials, met the Emirati president at Sheikh Zayed Palace in Rahim Yar Khan.

It added that the two leaders “carried forward discussions” from Al-Nahyan’s December 26 visit.

PM Shehbaz stressed the need for both sides to actively pursue an enhancement in bilateral trade “through a quantum jump which will bring it to the desired level”, the statement added.

The PM and the Emirati president also discussed ways to enhance cooperation in a wide range of sectors, such as IT, energy, minerals and defence cooperation.

“While expressing his great admiration for the UAE’s remarkable progress under His Highness’s (Al-Nahyan) dynamic and visionary leadership, the prime minister thanked the UAE president for his patronage and commitment to foster stronger ties between the two countries,” the statement read.

“He (PM Shehbaz) also appreciated the UAE for hosting 2.1 million Pakistanis, who were playing an important role in strengthening ties between both countries,” it added. “The meeting capped off a year of extensive leadership-level engagements between Pakistan and the UAE.

Pakistan and the UAE share close diplomatic, economic, and cultural ties, strengthened by historical connections and a large Pakistani expatriate community in the Emirates.

The UAE is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners and a key source of remittances, with thousands of Pakistanis working in various sectors. Both countries collaborate on defence, energy, and investment projects, with the UAE frequently providing financial aid and humanitarian assistance to Pakistan.

In April this year, Pakistan and the UAE signed and exchanged multiple memoranda of understanding (MoU) to further strengthen bonds between the people of both nations.

Two of the MoUs were for cooperation in the field of culture and the establishment of a joint committee for consular affairs, according to the report.

The third MoU was signed between the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry for the establishment of the UAE-Pakistan Joint Business Council.