Chief minister of Pakistan’s Sindh province invites UAE business community to invest in province

Caretaker Chief Minister of Sindh Justice Maqbool Baqir, right, meets UAE Consul General Bakheet Ateeq Al Remeithi in Karachi on August 30, 2023. (Photo courtesy: @sindhinfodepart/Twitter)

• Justice (retired) Maqbool Baqir thanked the Gulf state for its generous support after the monsoon floods in 2022
• The UAE consul general met the interim CM of Balochistan a day before his interaction with Justice Baqir in Karachi

ISLAMABAD: Sindh’s interim chief minister Justice (retired) Maqbool Baqir met the consul general of the United Arab Emirates, Bakheet Ateeq Al Remeithi, in Karachi on Wednesday to discuss bilateral issues and extend an invitation to the business community in the Gulf state to invest in the province.
Pakistan has strong diplomatic and economic ties with the UAE. In July of this year, both nations signed an agreement to create a bulk and general cargo terminal at the Karachi port, which is expected to attract an investment of $220 million in Pakistan over a period of 10 years.
“The Caretaker Chief Minister of Sindh, Justice (retired) Maqbool Baqir, has invited the investors of the United Arab Emirates to invest in the [province],” a statement from the Chief Minister’s House announced after the meeting.
The two officials delved into various bilateral matters during their interaction, with the chief minister expressing gratitude to the UAE diplomat for his country’s decision to extend support after the monsoon floods last year that submerged much of the province.
They also talked about the visa center in Karachi, touted as "Asia's largest," which the UAE government inaugurated in November 2021 and officially launched this April.
“This visa center was established to provide convenience to the people of Sindh and Balochistan,” Al Remeithi said.
A day earlier, the consul general also held a meeting with the caretaker chief minister of Balochistan province and discussed various aspects of mutual cooperation between the two countries.
The UAE hosts over 1.6 million Pakistani expatriates working in various public and private sectors.
According to official figures, the Pakistani diaspora in the UAE remitted a staggering $5.10 billion in 2022, marking it the second-highest amount after remittances from Saudi Arabia, which reached $6.67 billion in the same year.
In July, the UAE also played a crucial role in aiding Pakistan by depositing $1 billion in the country's central bank.
The timely support from the Gulf state came right before Islamabad received official approval from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $3 billion bailout package, helping Islamabad avert a sovereign debt default.