Pakistan and the UAE have signed a visa exemption agreement for diplomatic and official passports, Ishaq Dar, deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs of Pakistan announced in a statement on X on Wednesday.
The announcement was made following the developments at the 12th session of Pakistan-UAE Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) that took place in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
“Three important MoUs were signed: Visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders; Cooperation in AI & the digital economy; and joint investment promotion, which will pave the way for enhanced engagement to the mutual benefit of both nations,” Dar added.
The meeting was co-chaired by Ishaq Dar and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs of the UAE.
The session discussed matters across multiple domains of bilateral cooperation and explored new avenues for collaboration in trade, investment, energy, infrastructure development and IT.
Both sides emphasised enhancing institutional mechanisms as well as promoting inter-ministerial coordination.
UAE remains one of the top locations where Pakistani workers are employed – 64,130 individuals (9 percent). Saudi Arabia and Oman are the top choices for emigrating labor from Pakistan.
Brain drain: Pakistan lost 727,381 workers to overseas employment in 2024
The Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment (BE&OE) and the Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) registered a total of 727,381Pakistanis working overseas in 2024.