FM Shah Mahmood Qureshi visiting UAE amid reports of Gulf state mediating between Pakistan, India

• Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi leaves for three-day UAE visit.
• Pakistan and the UAE enjoy strong fraternal ties, rooted deep in common faith and shared history and values, reads Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement.
• On Thursday, the Gulf state's envoy to Washington confirmed that UAE is mediating between India and Pakistan to help the nuclear-armed rivals reach a “healthy and functional” relationship.

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi left today (Saturday) for the United Arab Emirates for a three-day official trip. 

This is the foreign minister's first official visit to the Emirates in the backdrop of confirmation by Emirati Ambassador to the US Yousef al-Otaiba, who said Pakistani and Indian officials had travelled to Dubai for backdoor negotiations.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement detailing the FM's plans on the UAE visit.  

Read more: UAE helping India, Pakistan reach 'healthy and functional' relationship, says senior diplomat

He will hold talks with the UAE's counterpart on the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and regional situation.

The Foreign Minister will also meet Pakistani community in the Emirate besides interacting with the local and international media.

FM Qureshi will meet his counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and other UAE dignitaries. Meetings with Pakistani diaspora and interactions with local and international media are also on the FM's agenda.

The MOFA statement confirmed that FM Qureshi will hold consultations with the UAE’s leadership on all areas of bilateral cooperation, including collaboration in trade and investment, job opportunities for Pakistani workforce and the welfare of Pakistani diaspora. 

He will also discuss regional and global issues of mutual interest. The UAE is home to the second largest Pakistani community abroad.

Read more: Pakistan still ready to engage with India on Kashmir problem, FO spokesperson reiterates

Pakistan and the UAE enjoy strong fraternal ties, rooted deep in common faith and shared history and values, the MOFA statement read, adding that high-level visits between the two countries have played a pivotal role in providing further impetus to strengthening bilateral cooperation and collaboration on a wide range of issues.

UAE is mediating between India and Pakistan, says senior diplomat

On Thursday, the Gulf state's envoy to Washington confirmed that the UAE is mediating between India and Pakistan to help the nuclear-armed rivals reach a “healthy and functional” relationship.

In January, top intelligence officers from India and Pakistan held secret talks in Dubai in a renewed effort to calm military tension over Kashmir, people with knowledge of the matter had told Reuters.

Read about the status of Pakistan, India trade relations

Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba said in a virtual discussion with Stanford University’s Hoover Institution on Wednesday that the UAE played a role “in bringing Kashmir escalation down and created a ceasefire, hopefully ultimately leading to restoring diplomats and getting the relationship back to a healthy level”.

“They might not sort of become best friends but at least we want to get it to a level where it’s functional, where it’s operational, where they are speaking to each other,” he said.

Ties between India and Pakistan have been frozen since a suicide bombing of an Indian military convoy in Kashmir in 2019 which India accused Pakistan of backing, and which Pakistan has always maintained was a home-grown attack perpetrated by disillusioned Kashmiri youth.

The incident eventually led to India sending warplanes to Pakistan for an unsuccessful mission that ended with the planes dropping their payload on a hillside in Balakot. Pakistan retaliated soon after, capturing an Indian pilot and downing two Indian jets in the process.