Karachi: Pakistan is a gateway to South & East Asia and the Middle East with lots of opportunities for liberal trade and investment, said Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday while speaking to the inaugural ceremony of magnificent 7th UAE Expo.
Pakistan has a huge market of around 180 million people and resilient economic fundamentals despite heavy odds that the country faced during floods and war on terror, PM said.
The country is blessed with talented and hard-working manpower, rich mineral resources and plentiful agriculture production.
UAE is one of the biggest foreign investor in Pakistan after USA and UK in key sectors such as energy, telecommunications, real estate, aviation and banking.
It is the largest investor in Pakistan among the Gulf Cooperation Council and its public and private sectors made an investment of $3.74 billion from 2004 to 2010.
About 1.4 million Pakistani expatriates live in UAE. They contribute remittances to the tune of well over $ 1 billion every year.
The presence of the business community, executives of the national and multi-national companies and the professionals in a large number demonstrates their passion and commitment to further strengthen trade and people-to-people relations between Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, he added.
