Some friendships are built through words, while others are tested through decades of shared experience. Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates belong to the second kind. For more than five decades, the two countries have stood beside each other through changing regional circumstances. Yet today, the question is no longer whether Pakistan and the UAE are friends. That has never really been in doubt. The real question is whether this enduring brotherhood can be transformed into a partnership that delivers greater prosperity, security and opportunity for both nations.
Pakistan’s connection with the UAE goes back to the early years of the federation. Pakistani officers, pilots, engineers, teachers and other professionals contributed to the development of the young state. By 1974, 115 Pakistani officers were serving in the Abu Dhabi Defence Force, while Pakistani officers also played a prominent role in the early UAE Air Force. Such contributions created a level of professional trust that cannot be established through diplomatic agreements alone.
But perhaps the strongest bridge between the two countries is made of people rather than institutions. Around 2.2 million Pakistanis live and work in the UAE, contributing to sectors ranging from construction and aviation to healthcare, education, finance, technology and business. They represent a living connection between the two societies. Their contribution, along with billions of dollars in remittances, has given the relationship a powerful human and economic dimension.
This is where Pakistan needs to think beyond traditional friendship. The next chapter should be about turning human connection into economic strength. Pakistan has a large young population, a growing technology sector, millions of freelancers and thousands of IT and ITeS companies. UAE investment in fintech, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, e-commerce and digital infrastructure could create employment, encourage technology transfer and connect Pakistani businesses with global markets.
The same thinking should extend to agriculture and minerals. Pakistan’s agricultural capacity can complement the UAE’s food-security needs, while Emirati investment and technology can improve processing, storage, cold chains and modern farming. Pakistan’s mineral resources offer another opportunity, but cooperation should move beyond extraction towards processing and value addition. Otherwise, Pakistan risks remaining a supplier of raw materials instead of becoming a producer of higher-value goods. However, turning these opportunities into long-term economic gains will require Pakistan to provide investors with predictable policies, transparency, reliable infrastructure and confidence that commitments will be honoured. Trade agreements create possibilities; implementation creates prosperity.
Security, however, cannot be separated from this partnership. Terrorism today is not confined to one country or one battlefield. Afghanistan-based terrorist networks and cross-border facilitators can exploit travel routes, financial channels, digital platforms and transnational communities to expand their reach. This makes counterterrorism a shared concern for Pakistan and the UAE, particularly because the UAE is an important financial, commercial, aviation and connectivity hub.
The two countries can therefore combine their respective strengths. Pakistan brings years of frontline counterterrorism and intelligence experience, while the UAE has strong capabilities in financial monitoring, aviation and border security, cybersecurity and preventive security. Greater intelligence-sharing can help track suspicious cross-border movements and travel documentation. Cooperation against illicit financial transfers, ransom payments, misuse of charities and digital fundraising can also help cut the financial lifelines of terrorist organisations.
The fight must extend beyond physical attacks. Online radicalisation, recruitment and extremist propaganda are increasingly important parts of the problem. Joint cyber investigations, digital forensics and credible counter-narratives can help disrupt this ecosystem before it produces violence. In my view, effective security cooperation should focus not only on stopping attacks but also on dismantling the networks and financing mechanisms that allow extremism to survive.
Brotherhood should now be visible in factories, technology projects, agricultural ventures, skilled jobs, stronger trade and coordinated security efforts. The UAE has capital, technology and global connectivity; Pakistan has people, resources, talent and a strategic location. If both countries use these strengths wisely, their relationship can move beyond the language of historic friendship. It can become a strategic partnership in which prosperity and security reinforce each other and ordinary people on both sides have a genuine stake in its success.
The writer is a freelance
columnist
