ABU DHABI, June 10: President Gen Pervez Musharraf and UAE President Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan on Monday held a comprehensive discussion with special reference to Pakistan-India stand-off, and the UAE expressed support for Pakistan’s efforts at de-escalation.

This was stated by Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar while talking to APP on the outcome of the talks.

The UAE also assured Pakistan of every assistance to help revive its economy.

Sattar said President Musharraf apprised Shaikh Zayed of the efforts his government had been making over the past six months in the interest of de-escalation, promotion of peace, and dialogue.

The UAE president listened not only with great interest but with sympathy and understanding and expressed support for Pakistan’s efforts, the foreign minister said.

Shaikh Zayed said they will continue efforts, backed up by other measures, for the preservation of peace between Pakistan and India.

Sattar said that the two leaders also had a very good discussion on existing relations between the two countries, particularly about the very generous support and assistance that Shaikh Zayed had personally given over the decades for social welfare projects in Pakistan.

He indicated that the Emirates would continue, within the limit of its resources, to assist Pakistan in achieving progress in various fields.

Pakistan and UAE also held formal bilateral talks during which the latter held out assurance of lending help in reviving the former’s economy.

Information Secretary Syed Anwar Mahmood told newsmen at a briefing afterwards that the two sides discussed bilateral cooperation and economic cooperation.

Shaikh Zayed said: “We will do all we can to help in economic revival of Pakistan.”

President Musharraf said he undertook this visit because he believed that the UAE and Saudi Arabia “are two countries with which Pakistan has very special relations” and “it is important to consult the leadership of the two brotherly countries at this critical juncture of our history.

“Whenever we face difficulty, we find it appropriate to consult the UAE and Saudi Arabia,” he said. Gen Musharraf apprised the UAE president of the economic situation of Pakistan and the problem the country was facing and “what we expect from friends and brothers.”

The UAE side assured that “we will do all that we can and you will not find us lacking (in support).”

The UAE president expressed his country’s solidarity with Pakistan, saying it was a country with whom “he enjoyed most cordial and brotherly relations.”

Shaikh Zayed told President Musharraf that whenever Pakistan faced any critical situation, he felt as if “we were also faced with the same situation, and when Pakistan achieved success, we also rejoiced.”

“I welcome you in the same spirit,” he said, adding that he considered Pakistan’s strength as that of the Arab and Muslim countries.

Shaikh Zayed said: “Whatever we have done for Pakistan has been in the tradition of brotherhood.”

In the context of Pakistan-India standoff, the UAE president expressed full appreciation of Pakistan’s standpoint, saying he was convinced Pakistan had done no wrong to anyone.

He expressed the confidence that Pakistan was fully capable of meeting all the challenges in the context of present situation in the region.

He said war was no solution to any problem.

He hoped that India will enter into a dialogue (with Pakistan) in its own interest.

President Musharraf said the real solution to the present crisis in the region lay not in the de-escalation of forces but in the initiation of dialogue that addressed all issues, including the core issue of Kashmir.

Earlier, before his departure for the UAE, Musharraf had warned that the chance of war with India remained high so long as the two countries’ armies stood ready for action on their common borders.—APP