Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, accompanied by a high-level delegation, left Islamabad on Thursday following a daylong visit in which he had a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The crown prince was seen off at the Nur Khan Airbase by Federal Minister for Power, Petroleum & Natural Resources Omar Ayub.
Earlier, PM Imran Khan had received the crown prince at the Nur Khan Airbase alongside various government officials, including Omar Ayub.
Setting aside protocol, Prime Minister Imran personally drove the crown prince from the airbase. This, however, is not the first time the premier has gotten behind the wheel for a foreign dignitary.
The crown prince held a one-on-one meeting with PM Imran followed by a luncheon hosted by the premier.
In a tweet via his official account, Sheikh Mohamed said he met his “friend Prime Minister Imran Khan” and discussed “regional and international issues of mutual interest as well as ways to enhance bilateral ties”.
The crown prince, according to a diplomatic source, had been in Pakistan for the past few days for houbara bustard hunting.
UAE’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Hamad Obaid Alzaabi, while announcing the Islamabad leg of the crown prince’s trip, had said it would be a daylong official visit for “strengthening the bonds of friendship between the two brotherly countries”.
The Emirati ruler last visited Pakistan on January 6, 2019, just weeks after his country offered $3 billion to support Pakistan’s battered economy.
His Thursday visit came on the heels of Pakistan pulling out of the Kuala Lumpur summit in Malaysia apparently over reservations by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoðan, following the summit, had said that it was not the first time that Saudi Arabia and the UAE had put pressure on a country for doing or not doing certain things.
