VIDEO: Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed orders $200m fund for Pakistan SMEs

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, discussed friendly Emirati-Pakistani relations and ways to develop them in various fields for the benefit of both countries and peoples.

This came about after the Pakistan Prime Minister received His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed in Islamabad on Thursday.

The meeting dealt with the overall situation in the Middle East, the Arabian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent and the Islamic world, with the leaders exchanging views on regional and international issues of common concern.

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed directed the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, Khalifa Fund, to allocate $200 million to support small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, in Pakistan.

This initiative aims to encourage innovation in projects and support entrepreneurship, to assist the Pakistani government’s efforts to create a stable and balanced national economy that will help achieve the country’s sustainable development.

At the start of the meeting, Sheikh Mohamed congratulated Khan and the Pakistani people on the New Year, and wished that 2020 would be a year of peace and development for Pakistan and the world.

Sheikh Mohamed affirmed the depth of relations and bonds of friendship that unite the United Arab Emirates and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, pointing to Pakistan's strong role in maintaining regional peace and security, as well as its strategic role in the Arabian Gulf, especially in light of the deep historical, cultural, geographical, and social ties that have bound both sides for hundreds of years.

Sheikh Mohamed (left) and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan at a meeting.

Sheikh Mohamed stressed the UAE's unwavering stance in supporting peace, stability and dialogue in the Indian subcontinent for the benefit of the people, and added that the region has great strategic importance for security in Asia and the world, as well as the Arabian Gulf region.

Sheikh Mohamed pointed out that Pakistan is an essential pillar of joint work within the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, OIC, and underlined the UAE's support for the organisation and the important role it plays in serving the cause of the Islamic world.

He went on to praise Pakistan for its keenness to maintain unity in the OIC, as it is the comprehensive institutional framework for Islamic countries around the world, which embodies Islamic values that call for cooperation, peace and acquaintance, and which rejects hate, extremism and violence of all kind.

For his part, Khan welcomed the Emirati leader and his accompanying delegation, expressing his wishes of further progress and development in the New Year to the UAE and its people, and highlighting the strong relations the two countries enjoy.

Khan also expressed his appreciation for the UAE's support towards Pakistan's economy and the development sector, and thanked Sheikh Mohamed for his keenness to enhance bilateral relations and push them forward. He also pointed to the pivotal role he plays in supporting development and peace both regionally and internationally.

The Abu Dhabi Crown Prince arrived earlier on Thursday in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, where he was received by the prime minister at the Nur Khan airbase.

Prime Minister Imran personally drove the crown prince from the airbase.