ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif is likely to hold a stocktaking meeting regarding the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday (today), sources in Commerce Ministry told Business Recorder.
Commerce Ministry has requested all the concerned Ministries to provide one slide on the updated status of each Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), one paragraph brief by each Ministry and talking points for the Prime Minister.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UAE while updating with regard to visit of business delegation from UAE informed that final dates for the visit are awaited from Chairman Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industries, the UAE. He added that the delegation will comprise of representatives of all chambers of commerce of seven States.
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Ministry of Commerce is tasked to engage and align leading business associations and chambers to get maximum benefit from the visiting business delegation.
It was informed that UAE side has appreciated the work/ progress made on the following sectors: (i) agri- 14 projects shared; (ii) mining; and (iii) finance.
It was also highlighted by the Ambassador that UAE side has communicated that response of Pakistan’s Commerce Ministry is slow on Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which needs to be expedited.
On proposed investment cooperation in the logistics sector, Ministry of Railways briefed the forum that following previous meeting instructions, they wrote to the Foreign Office on June 24, 2024 to engage the Ambassador of Pakistan in UAE to coordinate with DP World for sharing the commercial agreement.
On July 19, 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested clarifications on the project which was provided by Ministry of Railways along with all necessary data to apprise the Ambassador.
Ministry of Railways also informed that it has issued an email to DP World a few days ago, but response is still awaited.
The sources said, several issues including due payment of M/s Etisalat are still unresolved.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024