Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak, Imran Ismail and other top officials during the ceremony in Karachi on Sunday. WAM

Present during the opening were Dr Salem Al Khaddeim Al Dhanhani, UAE Consul-General in Karachi; Imran Ismail, Governor of Sindh; along with several senior officials in the Sindh government and Pakistani businessmen and media personnel.

In his speech during the opening ceremony, Al Dhanhani commended the solid historic relations between the UAE and Pakistan since the era of the founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. He explained that the visa centre, one of the largest in Asia, will provide distinguished consular services in line with the latest international standards.

Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubara, Imran Ismail during the ceremony in Karachi. WAM

The centre, he said, comes as part of the framework to provide all administrative services related to improving the level of customer service and issuing visas to facilitate the entry of Pakistanis to the UAE through electronic gates at the ports.

For his part, the governor of Sindh expressed his thanks and appreciation for the efforts made by the UAE government to promote bilateral ties.

The attendees commended the system used to issue visas at the centre as one of the best systems, which shortens the time for submitting the application and issuing the visa.

WAM