Karachi – Chairman of Pakistan – UAE Business Council (PUAEBC), Fakhruddin Diwan, has apprised a group of investors that UAE-based entrepreneurs and investors have shown interest in Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) due to its promise of one-window-operation mechanism – and, real-estate & construction, solar & renewable energy and information technology are their topmost priority areas. Our bilateral trade volume with UAE has surpassed $10.6 billion and it is expected to grow in double digits for the next 5 years, he added.
He highlighted that Prime Minister Anwaar Ul Haq Kakar has stressed upon the need to cooperate in the energy sector during his meeting with the Ambassador of UAE to Pakistan, H.E. Mr. Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi. The honorable ambassador also invited him to attend COP-28 in Abu Dhabi.
Fakhruddin Diwan explained that COP-28 is the 28th UN Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). He also emphasized that the PM should attend COP-28 and effectively present to the world Pakistan’s resolve to fight climate change alongside the rest of the developed world.
Mr. Diwan added that UAE has become a global hub for new technologies in the energy sector and his recommendation to SIFC would be to target green & renewable energy in their initiatives and road shows in UAE.
Apart from economic growth; minimizing current account deficit (CAD) and building foreign exchange reserves (FER), Pakistan can also resolve its energy woes and circular debt issues through attracting investments in commercial solar energy projects, he added.
Fakhruddin Diwan maintained UAE also played a pivotal role in helping Pakistan clinch the International Monetary Fund’s Standby Agreement (IMF-SBA) in July 2023 for a period of 9 months through concessional lending on a bilateral basis; and, yet again, helped Pakistan clear the first review of IMF-SBA in the current month through assurances to bridge external financing gaps though March 2023 – when the program completes.
