FM Shah Mehmood Qureshi lands in Dubai on two-day UAE visit
Development comes days after the UAE stopped issuing new visas to citizens of 13 mostly Muslim-majority countries including Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran, and Syria
December 17, 2020
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi landed in Dubai on a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates, Foreign Office said on Wednesday.
The FO statement said FM Qureshi would be holding discussions with the Emirati leadership "on all areas of mutual interest including regional and global issues" and "exchange views on bilateral cooperation, in particular trade, investment and the welfare of Pakistani diaspora."
Read more: UAE suspends visit visas for 12 countries, including Pakistan: FO
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said FM Qureshi will also meet Pakistani diaspora and interact with local and international media.
"The UAE is home to the second-largest Pakistani community abroad," read the FO statement. "Pakistan and the UAE enjoy historic fraternal relations, rooted firmly in shared history, common faith, values and mutual respect."
"High-level visits are an important feature, which not only exhibits cordial ties between the two countries but also accords the leadership an opportunity to give further impetus to strengthening bilateral cooperation on a wide range of issues."
Read more: FM Qureshi takes up visa issue for Pakistanis with UAE minister
The development comes weeks after the UAE stopped issuing new visas to citizens of 13 mostly Muslim-majority countries including Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran, and Syria.
A source briefed on the matter told Reuters the visas had temporarily stopped being issued to Afghans, Pakistanis, and citizens of several other countries over security concerns, but did not provide details of those concerns.".
Since the Gulf country has not publicly given any reason for the ban, at the time FO spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri had said that it could be related to the existing pandemic.
"We understand that these restrictions only apply to visit visas and not to the renewal of existing visas. We are in touch with the UAE authorities both in Abu Dhabi and Islamabad," he maintained during a weekly press briefing.
