- Pakistan-UAE relationship holds potential for further investments
Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have a long-standing relationship, with the UAE being one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners in the Middle East. The two countries have signed several agreements to boost bilateral cooperation in sectors like banking, railways, mining, and infrastructure investment. Recently, the UAE has restricted visa issuance for Pakistani nationals, allowing only holders of diplomatic and government “blue” passports. This decision is attributed to rising concerns over criminal activities linked to some Pakistani visitors, including begging, street crimes, and visa overstays. Despite these restrictions, the UAE has introduced measures to improve processing efficiency for permitted travelers, including online visa applications, e-visa issuance without physical passport stamping, and faster verification through digital systems. The Pakistani government is engaged in diplomatic talks with the UAE to address these issues and seek clarity on the visa restrictions. The UAE has assured Pakistan of its commitment to strengthening bilateral ties and exploring new avenues of collaboration.
The United Arab Emirates is one of the largest countries in terms of investment in Pakistan and in terms of trade in the Middle East and Africa. The UAE Foreign Trade Report showed that the public and private sectors invested more than $10 billion in Pakistan during the past two decades.
The United Arab Emirates has invested in the sectors of communications, services, tourism, information technology, oil and gas, housing, banking and real estate in Pakistan and has branches of its giant companies such as Etihad Airways, Emirates, Emaar, Dubai Islamic Bank and others and this has had a positive impact in the eyes of the Pakistani people. In addition, Pakistan imports crude oil, gold, and machinery from the country and others, while the UAE imports petroleum products, textiles, rice, leather, fruits, vegetables, sports equipment, construction…etc.
As further evidence of the strength of relations between the two countries, there are currently more than 1.8 million Pakistanis in the country, while investment groups in both countries are working to register their groups on the stock exchanges of the two countries. The United Arab Emirates has invested in the telecommunications, banking, real estate and oil sectors, while state companies are trying to play a constructive and effective role in purchasing shares of Pakistani companies that are being offered for privatization. For example, the Abu Dhabi Group purchased Al Falah Bank and UBL Bank, and Dubai Islamic Bank opened a branch in Pakistan alongside Emirates International Bank. Emirati Telecommunications also purchased some shares of the Pakistan Telecommunications Company for an amount exceeding $2 billion, while the Abu Dhabi Ports Company signed in February for the operation and development of Karachi Port Trust KPT. As for the rest of the state-affiliated companies, they also have an effective role, such as TOTAL Parco’s investments. It should be noted that 19 Emirati companies are currently operating in Pakistan. Sectors with potential for further investment are Information Technology and AI, fintech, agriculture, renewable energy, healthcare, logistics, digital communications, e-commerce and financial services. Two recent developments in financial services sector are as under:
Mobilink Bank and IMARAT Group partner for housing finance in Pakistan
Pakistan’s leading digital microfinance bank, Mobilink Bank has entered into a strategic partnership with IMARAT Group, one of the country’s premier real estate conglomerates, to enhance access to housing finance, and drive economic empowerment through technology-driven banking solutions. Pakistan currently faces a housing crisis, with World Bank estimates placing the housing shortage at around 12 million units. The situation is further aggravated by declining affordability, rising property prices, and higher mortgage rates. Mobilink Bank simplifies access to housing finance by offering inclusive, customer-centric solutions that enable low-income and underserved households to secure affordable and dignified homes. The bank’s partnership with IMARAT will revolutionize the home loan experience for their shared customers and employees by digitizing the entire mortgage journey, expanding banking access across IMARAT developments, and onboarding IMARAT employees into Mobilink Bank’s comprehensive digital banking suite. The collaboration underscores Mobilink Bank’s leadership in digital banking, housing finance, and employer banking solutions, and reaffirms its commitment to catering to the evolving financial needs of its diverse customer base.
Mashreq Bank on its way for digital expansion in Pakistan
Mashreq Bank Pakistan – one of the two retail digital banks operating in the country since September 2025 – has put a big focus on channeling workers’ remittances into the country from abroad and introduced profit on current accounts for the first time in Pakistan. The bank says it will offer up to 5% profit per annum on current accounts.
With its headquarters in Dubai, the bank aims to serve 10 million Pakistanis over the next five years, as it claims to be the second-largest single foreign direct investor (FDI) in the country, having injected a total of $100 million into Pakistan over the past couple of years. The bank looks to channelize workers’ remittances apparently to mobilize deposits from accountholders and others, and begin offering lending to individuals and small and medium-sized entrepreneurs (SMEs) later from the next year of 2026. It will leverage the bank’s global infrastructure to allow instant account opening for non-resident Pakistanis (NRPs) based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), enabling faster and zero-fee remittances, as Mashreq UAE already has close to 300,000 overseas Pakistanis sending remittances from there to Pakistan. Pakistan’s total remittances hit record $38 billion in the fiscal year 2024-25 from around $28 billion two years ago. These workers’ remittances have a share of 10% in Pakistan’s GDP.