Sheikh Tariq bin Faisal Al Qassimi meets with Pakistani President

Also in attendance were Raza Jafar, CEO of Enshaa, a UAE-based real estate developer and one of the largest investment firms in Pakistan, as well as Pakistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Makhdum Shah Mehmood Qureshi; Minister of Finance, Economic Affairs and Statistics Shoukat Tareen; and Minister of Investment Saleem Mandivalla.

The parties exchanged views about the current global economic situation, discussing potential ways of strengthening trade and economic ties between Pakistan and the UAE, and offsetting the impact of the crisis by further bolstering relations between the two countries. New areas of cooperation and investment were identified for EIG, which already has a number of active investments in Pakistan.

Sheikh Tariq emphasised the importance of investment in Pakistan, and of the strategic partnership between EIG and the Pakistani business community. He also commended the support given to UAE investors by the Pakistani government, in the form of incentives, facilities and favourable legal infrastructure, as well as the diversity of the Pakistani economy, which gives investors the opportunity to diversify their investment portfolios.

"With the increasing political and security stability in Pakistan following the election of President Zardari, and the resultant encouraging atmosphere, we are increasingly interested in further investment. The new decision-makers have made strong intentions to strengthen the economic base and open the doors for foreign investors who are eager to invest in the rapidly growing Pakistani economy,"

said Al Qassimi.

"I see President Zardari's visit to the UAE as being another important step in encouraging foreign investment, and I believe it will serve to strengthen those ties that are in place between Pakistan and the UAE. It reaffirms the UAE's special position among the Pakistani people," he continued.

Sheikh Tariq reiterated that EIG's investments in Pakistan are not impacted by the the global financial crisis. "Our strategic investments in Pakistan have all been planned on a long-term basis, as we have focused on developing sustainable projects for the advantage of the present and future economy in Pakistan. These projects are large, sustainable and designed to complement the two emerging economies, which means that they will be shielded from the impacts of any sudden crisis," he said.

Emirates Investments Group has a strong portfolio of quality investments launched in Pakistan over the last five years, including Emirate Global Islamic Bank, which was launched last year and now employs over 400 staff in its 25 strategically-located branches. EIG has also acquired a public brokerage firm, and has helped develop an Islamic insurance company, Takaful Pakistan. The group's trading arm has many interests in Pakistan, ranging from automotive parts to general commodities, and its partnership in real estate developer ENSHAA is represented by Karachi Financial Towers, its flagship project in Pakistan.

The UAE-Pakistan economic partnership is one of the region's strongest relations, with the UAE's investment in Pakistan estimated at $7bn since the beginning of 2008. The volume of the UAE's investment in Pakistan is estimated at $9.5bn for the past four years and is expected to reach $15bn. The largest part of these investments is focused on real estate sector including residential, shopping and communication facilities.