Pakistan has sought Saudi-like deferred payment for oil imports facility from the United Arab Emirates as well to help stave off a current account crisis, said Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. He stated this during a media briefing after a high-level delegation from the UAE led by Minister of State and CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Dr Sultan Aljaber called on him and discussed the ways to enhance cooperation in various areas of interest including trade and economy.
"We discussed and desired to have the facility of deferred payments for oil imports from the UAE, as our oil imports from the UAE are much more than Saudi Arabia. We shared our desire with the visiting delegation which they would discuss at higher level upon their return to their country," Qureshi said. He said that fiscal deficit will go down if the UAE provides oil to Pakistan on deferred payments.
The UAE delegation comprised CEOs/senior officials of major companies, including Mobadla Petroleum, ADIA (Sovereign Wealth Funds), Etisalat, DP World, Dubai Investment Authority, Emaar Company, Aldahra Agriculture and Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.
Qureshi said the delegation was on a one-day visit to Pakistan at his invitation which is a follow-up visit of the Prime Minister's official visit to Abu Dhabi on September 19 and his understanding with Crown Prince Sheikh Muhammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to forge closer economic, trade and investment relations between the two countries in all areas of common interest.
"The visit was an indication of a new beginning in the bilateral relations and will increase UAE's footprints in a number of sectors in Pakistan," he said. He said Pakistan and the UAE have agreed to enhance bilateral relations, including trade and investment, for the mutual benefit of both the countries.
Lauding the excellence achieved by the UAE in renewable energy, petroleum and petrochemicals, seawater desalination, agricultural research, infrastructure development and hospitality industry in a short span of time, the foreign minister urged greater cooperation between the two countries in these areas for sharing experiences and best practices.
On energy sector, he said that the UAE delegation expressed interest in setting up a state-of-the-art LNG terminal in Pakistan and an oil refinery.
The foreign minister said the mega housing project started by the government has immense potential of foreign investment and Emaar Company of the UAE has expressed interest to invest in the project.
Qureshi said the delegation expressed desire to export rice, vegetables, mango and orange from Pakistan, adding that more talks would follow on agriculture products. He said that Pakistani side also sought the UAE's expertise and investment in food processing.
He further said that discussions were also held to seek UAE's cooperation in seawater desalination, especially in Gwadar and Karachi.
Looking forward to the much anticipated visit of Muhammad bin Zayed Al-Nahyan to Pakistan, he expressed satisfaction over the steady progress of bilateral relations, following the Prime Minister's visit to Abu Dhabi last month.
Referring to Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan's invitation for participation in Sir Bani Yas Forum next month, the foreign minister expressed his keen desire to engage closely with the UAE leadership to bring the two brotherly countries and their people closer together.
Referring to Pakistan's foreign policy, the foreign minister said Pakistan is pursuing its policy with other countries based on mutual benefits and national interest.
About the Prime Minister's upcoming visit to China, he said that Imran Khan will have bilateral meetings with Chinese President and Prime Minister, besides participating and delivering a keynote address at international expo.
Reshuffle in Foreign Missions
The foreign minister also announced the government's decision to replace various 'politically' appointed ambassadors by previous PML-N government in various world capitals including Washington.
He said that all the replacements, at the first stage, have been made with the career diplomats with a view to making foreign policy stronger and robust.
Giving further details, he said that Pakistan's current ambassador in Washington has been replaced with a career diplomat namely Dr Asad Majeed Khan.
He said Nafees Zakaria, who is currently serving as Pakistan High Commissioner to Malaysia, will be posted to London as Pakistan's High Commissioner. Zakria will be replacing Sahibzada Ahmad Khan who was recently called back from London following a controversial video went viral and now he is being sent to Havana, Cuba, as Pakistan's new ambassador.
Raza Bashir Tarar will be appointed Pakistan High Commissioner to Ottawa, Canada, to replace Tariq Azeem who was appointed by the previous PML-N government.
Raja Ali Ijaz is being posted as Pakistan ambassador to Saudi Arabia, while Hamid Asghar Khan has been recommended to be Pakistan's new ambassador to Morocco. In Qatar, he said that Syed Ahsan Raza Shah has been recommended to be the new ambassador of Pakistan while Ahmad Amjad Ali will be Pakistan's consul general in Dubai. He said that Shehryear Akbar Khan will be posted as Pakistan ambassador to Serbia. However, Qureshi said that all the new appointments are at the initial stage and their agreements from the host countries are yet to receive.
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