Shahbaz Sharif, Engineer Amir Muqam during the exclusive interview with Gulf Today's Business Editor Inayat-Ur-Rahman (C) at PM House Islamabad.

Pakistan is privileged to have enjoyed a special partnership with the UAE since its inception. As a time-tested friend and brotherly country, the UAE has always come forward to support Pakistan, said Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan, during an exclusive interview recently with Gulf Today’s Business Editor, Inayat-ur-Rahman, at the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad.

Engineer Amir Muqam, Adviser to the Prime Minister and President of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), was also present during the meeting.

The prime minister exchanged views with Inayat-ur-Rahman about the bilateral trade and investment relations with the UAE and also discussed issues being faced by overseas Pakistanis.

“In every moment of trial and difficulty, the UAE has stood resolutely by Pakistan’s side. Be it the earthquake of 2005, or the worst floods or Covid-19, the UAE has been among the forefront of friends coming to the assistance of Pakistan. “Indeed, it was the founding father of the UAE, late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan who laid the foundation of this friendship, and nurtured it. He had a special love in his heart for the Pakistani nation, and knew the significant potential this relationship held for both nations,” PM Sharif added.

He called on UAE businessmen to utilise the immense opportunities in Pakistan, which is a market of over 220 million people and offers its investors a strong and large consumer market.

“Energy, infrastructure, e-commerce, agro-based industry, and IT sectors are up for grabs,” he added. Shahbaz pointed out that bilateral trade with the UAE has increased by 25.40% during 2021-22 as compared to the previous year, amounting to $10.60 billion. “We are looking to further strengthen our existing economic, trade and investment ties.”

The prime minister mentioned that the average annual trade between the two countries stands at $8 billion, making the UAE the largest trading partner of Pakistan in the Mena region.

To a question about overseas Pakistanis, PM Shahbaz noted that they have been contributing a major role in stabilising the national economy and the government will make every effort to facilitate them.

Shahbaz hailed the valuable contribution of overseas Pakistanis and expressed his hope that they will continue to support the national economy by remitting more money to the country.

Engineer Amir Muqam thanked the prime minister for providing quality education opportunities by announcing a new university in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during his recent visit to Peshawar. He also discussed forthcoming general elections, party issues in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the political situation of the country.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's state bank coffers were further boosted recently by a $1 billion deposit from the United Arab Emirates. The UAE has deposited $1 billion with Pakistan's central bank to support foreign exchange reserves, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said.

Securing financial support from friendly nations has been a key condition of the IMF for approving a new standby deal for Pakistan worth $3 billion.

The International Monetary Fund's board has approved a $3 billion bailout programme for Pakistan which will immediately disburse about $1.2 billion to help stabilise the country’s economy.

Pakistan and the Fund reached a staff level agreement last month, securing a short-term pact, which got more than expected funding for the country of 230 million. The board's approval was mandatory before disbursing the first tranche, with the rest to arrive later in instalments.

The IMF executive board "approved a 9-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) for Pakistan for an amount of SDR2,250 million (about $3 billion, or 111 per cent of quota) to support the authorities' economic stabilisation programme," the lender said in a statement.

The IMF said the fresh funding will provide a policy anchor for addressing domestic and external imbalances and a framework for financial support from multilateral and bilateral partners.