Pakistan's warship visits Dubai as goodwill gesture

Jamil Khan, Senior Reporter

Pakistan’s navy warship ‘Saif’ is in Dubai on a 3-day goodwill gesture and left Port Rashid on Sunday to continue its security patrol in the region.

The Pakistan Consulate in Dubai and Northern Emirates had organised a visit for local media on Saturday to board the warship and meet the officers and facilitated a guided tour around the ship.

“Pakistan and the UAE are enjoying a great brotherly relationship since 1971 as the Pakistan armed forces have been part of evolving of local navy, air force, police besides other sectors,” said Captain Hamid Sajjad, Commanding Officer, PNS Saif while interacting with the local media during the visit.

The PNS (Pakistan Navy Ship) Saif is a frontline ship equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and sensor. The 123-metre long ship is in operation since 2010 and part of the Pakistan Navy fleet with 14 officers and 188 CPOs and sailors while equipped with an anti-submarine helicopter, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles besides close in weapon system.

“Pakistan is a peace loving country and always supports stability in the region to maintain good relationship and we are sharing common ground with UAE to maintain stability in the region. PNS Saif is a manifestation in the region of longlasting peace and stability in the region as we are part of anti-piracy and anti-terrorism activities,” he said.

The ship is part of the regional maritime security patrolling to have been deployed in ‘choke points’ in the Strait of Hormuz, Horn of Africa and Arabian Sea and protect different kinds of ships in the international waters, he said.

“On behalf of Pakistan Navy we are extending our warm gratitude towards the UAE Rulers and the people of UAE,” he said.

A couple of stalls were set up onboard PNS Saif with pamphlets about the country’s tourism attractions.

The ship was visited by a number of guests and their families during the 3-day stay at Port Rashid.

Frequent exchange of high-level visits between Pakistan and the UAE are “reflective of the importance that the two countries attach to their fraternal ties,” the Office of the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pakistan said recently.

In a statement issued on the occasion of the recent visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to Pakistan, the Ministry said that the visit illustrates the strength and substance of the Pakistan-UAE special relationship, based on commonalities of faith, cultural affinities, and a shared resolve to take mutual cooperation to a new level.

The UAE is Pakistan’s largest trading partner in the Middle East and a major source of investments. The UAE is also among Pakistan’s prime development partners in education, health and energy sectors. It hosts more than 1.6 million Pakistani expatriates who that contributes remittances of around $4.5 billion annually to the GDP, the statement added.

A top Pakistani diplomat recently said his country has immense investment opportunities, which the UAE can further tap into, naming the petroleum sector, infrastructure development, and the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor, as top potential areas.

In an exclusive interview with the Emirates News Agency, WAM, Ghulam Dastgir, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UAE, stated that Pakistan has “potential” and the UAE has the “capacity” to invest in these sectors, and in Gwadar, a port city on the southwestern coast of Balochistan, and Pakistan’s largest infrastructural project since its independence.

The UAE Government has a number of projects running in Pakistan, including in health and infrastructure under the UAE Pakistan Assistance Programme, UAEPAP. It has also made enormous efforts towards polio eradication in the Pakistan. Yet, the Ambassador said that his country is open to more partnerships.

Pakistani newspapers reported the arrival of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Islamabad.

Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan, received His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayedat the Nur Khan Air Force Base in Rawalpindi, where he warmly welcomed Sheikh Mohamed and his delegation.