PM postpones UAE visit to focus on flood rescue, relief activities

ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday announced the postponement of his visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which was scheduled for September 3, due to the flood situation in the country.

“I was set to visit the UAE on September 3 on the invitation of HH the President. We mutually decided to postpone the visit so that I could focus on the ongoing rescue and relief activities,” the PM wrote on Twitter.

He said Pakistan would forever be indebted to “our brothers and sisters who have stood by us in this challenge.”The premier also shared that the UAE has begun delivering the first tranche of relief goods worth $50 million for the flood victims in Pakistan.PM Shebaz furthered that in his telephonic conversation with the UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan last night, the latter assured him that the UAE would continue to aid the flood victims in Pakistan.

On Monday, the UAE authorities had contacted the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and pledged 20 aircraft full of flood relief equipment for Pakistan’s flood-affected people.