REPORT – ATM 2006 – DUBAI: Dubai World and the Government of Pakistan announced plans to jointly undertake large-scale infrastructure projects in Pakistan. Sultan Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai World, met with the…
REPORT – ATM 2006 – DUBAI: Dubai World and the Government of Pakistan announced plans to jointly undertake large-scale infrastructure projects in Pakistan. Sultan Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai World, met with the President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, in Islamabad to discuss potential areas of cooperation between Dubai World and Pakistan.
The two parties agreed to jointly explore investments in various fields, including real estate developments in major urban centers across Pakistan. Nakheel, a fully-owned subsidiary of Dubai World and the developer of several of Dubai`s iconic projects such as the Palms, The World and Dubai Waterfront, will spearhead efforts on this front and explore investments in the residential, commercial and leisure real estate sectors in Pakistan.
Dubai World and the Government of Pakistan also discussed potential cooperation and investment in other commercial activities including development and management of industrial infrastructure, including industrial parks and free zones, and development and operation of public sector infrastructure projects, including oil & gas related projects, airports and port and terminal management.
Speaking on the occasion, Sultan Bin Sulayem said Pakistan is one of the world`s fastest growing economies making it an attractive market for Dubai World. We have a close relationship with Pakistan and would like to further strengthen it by capitalizing on opportunities in the country. The Middle East has a huge potential investor base for investments into Pakistan. He added Dubai World plans to utilize its expertise and knowledge to develop projects of an international standard in Pakistan.
President General Pervez Musharraf welcomed Sultan Bin Sulayem to Pakistan and promised to provide the full support of the Government to facilitate Dubai World`s investments in the country. He was quoted as saying We are delighted to welcome Dubai World to Pakistan and are very excited about the prospect of Dubai World undertaking major projects in the country. The Dubai World group, particularly Dubai Ports and Nakheel, are world-class operations which can bring tremendous value to this country. We have a significant shortage of quality housing units across the country and Nakheel is ideally placed to plug this gap as a result of the expertise it has developed from the various mega-scale projects in Dubai. The Government is fully committed to facilitating foreign investment in the country and we will ensure that Dubai World receives the full support of the Government at all times. We have historically enjoyed strong relations with Dubai and the UAE and this is an excellent platform to further bolster those ties.
The Board of Investment, Pakistan, was instrumental in facilitating the extensive ground-work which culminated in the two parties agreeing to the framework under which Dubai World plans to undertake investments in Pakistan.
Dubai World is a state-owned enterprise of Dubai and is involved in a wide range of commercial activities having business interests in the fields of ports & logistics, real estate, management of free zones and many others. Dubai World`s flagship subsidiaries include Dubai Ports, which recently acquired P&O to become the world`s 3rd largest port operator, Nakheel, Istithmar and Jebel Ali Free Zone.
Dubai Islamic Bank is advising and arranging Dubai World`s potential entry into the Pakistan market. DIB is one of the world`s largest Islamic financial institutions and has recently established a full fledged banking subsidiary in Pakistan. DIB has specialized project teams based in Dubai and Pakistan which will advise Dubai World on the proposed projects.
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