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       United Arab Emirates Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said ties with Pakistan were growing at a “good pace” as he and Deputy PM Ishaq Dar met in Islamabad on Monday.

       Pakistan and the UAE share close diplomatic, economic, and cultural ties. The UAE is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners in the Middle East and a major source of remittances, with a large Pakistani expatriate population living and working there.

       In a joint press conference held with Dar, the visiting official said that the UAE wanted to further develop the relationship with Pakistan, adding that it was already growing “at a good pace”.

       “I think both our leaders — [and] the people of Pakistan and UAE — do want to see more development in the relationship, and I want to stress that in the past year or two, things have been moving faster than they have for a while,” he said.

       “And I really look forward that the good spirit would continue in so many different sectors — if it’s trade, investment and aviation,” he added.

       Meanwhile, Dar welcomed the official, adding that the two countries had “age-old fraternal relations and shared commitments and love and affection” for one another.

       The deputy PM further said he wished his UAE counterpart’s visit had lasted longer, adding he was aware that Nahyan had other global commitments.

       Dar and Sheikh Abdullah also signed three memorandums of understanding (MoUs), state-owned Radio Pakistan reported.

       Two of the MoUs were for cooperation in the field of culture and the establishment of a joint committee for consular affairs, according to the report.

       The third MoU was signed between the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry for the establishment of the UAE-Pakistan Joint Business Council.

       Sheikh Abdullah arrived in Pakistan on Sunday evening for a two-day official visit, the Foreign Office (FO) had said in a statement.

       The FO had said that the visit would “further cement … longstanding Pakistan-UAE ties and contribute to deepening bilateral engagements in diverse fields, benefitting the peoples of both countries”.