Daily Times

UAE is to invest $1 billion in Pakistan. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is planning to invest one billion dollars in Pakistan’s economic and investment sectors, quoting an official source in Abu Dhabi the state news agency has reported.

The move aims at exploring new investment opportunities, expanding bilateral economic relations and to enhance mutual cooperation in projects covering various sectors of the economy.

The UAE investment will likely be channeled to key sectors including gas, energy infrastructure, renewable energy, healthcare, biotechnology, agriculture technology, logistics, digital communications, e-commerce and financial services.

The UAE is Pakistan’s largest trading partner in the Middle East and a major source of investments and remittances.

The trade volume between the two countries amounted to $8.19 billion (Dh30 billion) in 2019. Both countries also have significant investments in various sectors in each other’s economies such as real estate.

The move is expected to help in revival of investor sentiment in the country. As an IMF package becomes clearer, the sentiment has improved.

According to a report, the IMF is likely to start the process for releasing the seventh and eighth tranches of a loan programme for Pakistan later this week.

Pakistan and the IMF signed the $6bn bailout accord — Extended Fund Facility (EFF) — in 2019. But the release of a $1.17 billion (seventh and eighth) tranche has been on hold since earlier this year, when the IMF expressed concern about Pakistan’s compliance with the deal.