Senior officials from the UAE and Pakistan held talks on Wednesday to strengthen bilateral economic relations and boost trade and investment co-operation between the two countries.
The meeting, which was held at the Ministry of Economy’s headquarters in Dubai, was attended by Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and Syed Naveed Qamar, Pakistan’s Minister of Commerce.
The UAE is Pakistan’s leading investment partner in the region and fifth largest globally, Dr Al Zeyoudi said.
The Emirates’ investment in the Pakistani market exceeds Dh9 billion ($2.5 billion), he said.
“They span an array of economic and trade sectors such as energy, ICT [information communications and technology], financial services, insurance, building and construction, oil and natural gas."
“Meanwhile, Pakistani FDI [foreign direct investment] in the UAE totalled Dh8.6 billion by the end of 2020, mostly concentrated in real estate, financial services, insurance, retail and construction fields,” Dr Al Zeyoudi said.
The value of non-oil foreign trade between the two countries jumped 30 per cent on an annual basis to reach Dh25.7 billion last year.
The Emirates' non-oil exports to Pakistan reached nearly Dh4.8 billion last year, while re-exports amounted to Dh10.6 billion.
The UAE, the Arab world’s second-largest economy, is Pakistan's number-one regional trading partner as of 2021, accounting for more than 40 per cent of the South Asian country's trade with Arab nations, Dr Al Zeyoudi said.
The UAE also ranks sixth in the top destinations for Pakistani exports, and is the second largest in the world for the Pakistani imports, after China, he added.
In January, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited the UAE and met President Sheikh Mohamed. During the meeting, the leaders discussed the historical ties between the UAE and Pakistan and ways to enhance co-operation.
It was followed by President Sheikh Mohamed's visit to Pakistan the same month.
The UAE has been boosting its international trade ties and has signed comprehensive economic partnership agreements with countries such as India, Indonesia, Turkey, Georgia and Israel.
The country is working towards signing 26 Cepas as it seeks to diversify its economy, Abdulla bin Touq, Minister of Economy, said this month.
The UAE also recorded an unprecedented growth in its non-oil foreign trade last year, with the figure crossing the Dh2.2 trillion mark for the first time, with an annual growth of 17 per cent.
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
The biog
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Rating: 1/5
RESULT
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