H.E. Al Zeyoudi meets with Pakistani Minister of Commerce to discuss strengthening of economic & trade partnership

Non-oil trade exchanges between the two countries totaled AED 25.7 billion in 2022 with a 30 per cent growth

H.E. Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, held a meeting with H.E. Syed Naveed Qamar, Federal Minister of Commerce of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, to discuss the strengthening of trade and investment cooperation between the two countries in areas of shared interest.

The meeting was attended by H.E. Juma Muhammad Al Kait, Assistant Undersecretary for Foreign Trade Affairs at the UAE Ministry of Economy; H.E. Muhammad Sweileh Farooqi, Deputy Minister of Commerce of Pakistan; Maria Kazi, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce of Pakistan; and Adeem Khan, Commercial Counselor for Pakistan Consulate in Dubai. The meeting took place at the Ministry of Economy headquarters in Dubai.

H.E. Al Zeyoudi underlined the strength of the UAE-Pakistan relations, which continue to grow in various fields of trade and investment thanks to the support of both governments.

H.E. said: “The UAE is Pakistan’s top investment partner in the region and fifth largest globally as our investments in Pakistani markets exceed AED 9 billion (USD 2.5 billion). They span an array of economic and trade sectors such as energy, ICT, financial services, insurance, building and construction, oil and natural gas. Meanwhile, Pakistani FDI in the UAE totaled AED 8.6 billion (USD 2.35 billion) by the end of 2020, mostly concentrated in real estate, financial services, insurance, retail and construction fields.”

H.E. Al Zeyoudi added: "The meeting with the Pakistani delegation was an important opportunity to enhance joint efforts between the two countries to boost trade and investment exchanges by encouraging the private sector to explore opportunities and benefit from promising investment prospects offered by both markets. The UAE is Pakistan's number one GCC, Arab and regional trading partner as of 2021, accounting for more than 40 per cent of Pakistan's trade with Arab countries. The UAE also ranks sixth among the top destinations for Pakistani exports, and is the second largest in the world for the Pakistani imports, after China.”

The value of non-oil foreign trade between the two countries amounted to AED 25.7 billion (USD 7 billion) in 2022, up 30 per cent from AED 19.8 billion (USD 5.4 billion) in 2021. The UAE's non-oil exports to Pakistan totaled nearly AED 4.8 billion (USD 1.3 billion) in 2022, while the re-exports from the UAE to Pakistani markets amounted to AED 10.6 billion (USD 2.9 billion), highlighting a growth of 7.7 per cent.