ABU DHABI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday urged the members of the Abu Dhabi Chamber to visit Pakistan and experience the “excellent” opportunities of growing their business.

The prime minister, in a meeting with a delegation of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce during his two-day visit to the UAE, said that bilateral trade between Pakistan and the UAE had grown significantly in recent times. The delegation was headed by Chairman of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce Abdullah Mohamed Al Mazrouei.

Talking to the delegation, the prime minister said the Abu Dhabi Chamber which also consisted of Pakistani members had played an important role in the economic development of the UAE.

He expressed the pleasure that one of the Pakistani businessmen had been a board member of the Abu Dhabi Chamber which was an indication of the fact Pakistani community was playing important role in the development of the UAE.

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Prime Minister Sharif said the vision and wisdom of its leadership had enabled the UAE to become an economic and tourism hub within a short span of time.

He said Pakistan gave importance to its relationship with the UAE which was based on common faith, shared history, and people-to-people contacts.

“We consider the UAE an important strategic and economic partner for being located in the neighbourhood, playing an important role in ensuring peace, stability, and economic development in the region and having potential for joint socio-economic development,” the prime minister remarked.

He stressed the need to enhance chamber-to-chamber cooperation and urged the Pakistani chambers to reach out to the Abu Dhabi Chamber and develop new linkages. Prime Minister Shehbaz said that sending a skilled workforce to the UAE was one of the top priorities of his government.

The members of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce showed interest in doing business and investing in Pakistan.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar, Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Minister for Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique, Minister for Communications Maulana Assad Mehmood, Special Assistants to Prime Minister Aurangzeb, Tariq Fatemi and senior government officials.