Abu Dhabi crown prince heads back home after meeting with PM Khan

ISLAMABAD: Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Islamabad Thursday afternoon for a day-long official visit to hold meetings with the top Pakistani leadership.

He was accorded a red-carpet welcome as he touched down at the Nur Khan airbase.

Prime Minister Imran Khan received the visiting dignitary personally and then drove him to the PM House.

PM @ImranKhanPTI received HH Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi & Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces at the Nur Khan Base#PMImranKhan pic.twitter.com/A7cdIniIay

— PTI (@PTIofficial) January 2, 2020

The crown prince held a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Khan at the PM House, which was followed by a luncheon hosted in his honour by the premier.

https://www.facebook.com/ImranKhanOfficial/videos/2385716545075145/

After the luncheon, he was driven to Nur Khan airbase where the UAE ambassador to Pakistan saw him off.

Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI hosts lunch in honor of HH Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi & Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces #PMImranKhan pic.twitter.com/fQlYhPHUge

— PTI (@PTIofficial) January 2, 2020

The crown prince had visited Pakistan last year in Jan as well.

Today’s visit follows on the heels of the Dec 14 meeting between the crown prince and Chief of Army of Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa in Abu Dhabi.

Frequent exchange of high-level visits between Pakistan and the UAE is reflective of the importance that the two countries attach to their fraternal ties, the Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement earlier today.

She added the visit also illustrates the strength and substance of the Pakistan-UAE special relationship.

The UAE is Pakistan’s largest trading partner in the Middle East and a major source of investments. It is also among Pakistan’s prime development partners in education, health, and energy sectors.

UAE hosts more than 1.6 million expatriate Pakistani community, which contributes remittances of around $4.5 billion annually to the GDP.

The visit of Crown Prince will contribute to further enhancement of multi-faceted collaboration between Pakistan and the UAE.

Earlier on December 20, Prime Minister Khan had made a telephone call to the Abu Dhabi crown prince and exchanged views on bilateral relations.

https://arynews.tv/en/pm-imran-telephones-abu-dhabi-crown-prince/

Matters of mutual interest, regional, international affairs and other issues had come under discussion during the telephonic conversation.

The two leaders had also discussed ways of further deepening bilateral cooperation in all spheres and agreed to maintain close consultations on regional and international issues.