VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDE #0011/01 0351324
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 041324Z FEB 10
FM AMCONSUL DUBAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0051
INFO GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0062

C O N F I D E N T I A L DUBAI 000011 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/FO 
NEA/ARP/BMCGOVERN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/04 
TAGS: ETRD KIPR EFIN ECON PREL AE PK
SUBJECT: UAE HOSTS PAKISTAN INVESMENT FORUM 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Jennifer Gavito, Pol/Econ Chief; REASON: 1.4(B), (D) 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  The Foreign Ministers of the UAE and Pakistan 
co-hosted on January 26 a Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) 
conference to promote public-private partnership (PPP) in Pakistan. 
The conference sought to encourage regional and international 
interest in investment opportunities in Pakistan's energy, 
infrastructure, agriculture and social (health and education) 
sectors.  The U.S. delegation was led by Embassy Islamabad DCM 
Gerald Feierstein; the U.S. Ambassador to the UAE also attended. 
The UAE used the conference to reaffirm its commitment to Pakistan. 
END SUMMARY 
 
 
 
------------------------------------- 
 
BIG INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR FoDP 
 
------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2. (U) The FoDP conference, held January 26 in Dubai, attracted 
around 400 delegates from Pakistan, the UAE and 24 other countries. 
The Pakistani delegates emphasized the benefits of establishing 
Public-Private Partnerships and encouraged investors to take a 
closer look at opportunities in Pakistan.  Pakistani Foreign 
Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced a five year USD 1.2 billion 
development plan for Pakistan in energy, infrastructure, 
agriculture and social (health and education) sectors.  The 
delegates from Pakistan used the conference as an opportunity to 
reintroduce Pakistan as a safe country for investment and downplay 
the security concerns that have dominated recent headlines. 
Pakistani delegates emphasized the opportunity for significant 
returns on investment in Pakistan and noted the Government of 
Pakistan's record as a credit worthy borrower. 
 
 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
UAE SUPPORTS PAKISTAN INVESTMENT 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶3. (U) UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan 
told participants that the UAE is committed to advancing efforts 
for development and stability in Pakistan as part of a wider effort 
toward promoting regional stability.  The UAE hosts one of the 
largest expatriate Pakistani populations in the world.  UAE 
representatives did not pledge UAEG investment in Pakistan, but 
Sheikh Abdullah emphasized the role of private sector investment. 
He also pointed out the UAE's role in hosting two previous FoDP 
conferences as a signal of its ongoing commitment to supporting 
development and stability.  Sheikha Lubna Al Qassimi, Minister of 
Foreign Trade, also emphasized the UAE's full support to Pakistan 
and its people and noted the UAEG's role as key facilitator of 
Public Private Partnerships in Pakistan. 
 
 
 
¶4. (C) An Emirati participant told Ambassador that Sheikh Abdullah 
had mobilized the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry to have as 
many UAE nationals as possible attend the conference. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
PAKISTANI FOREIGN MINISTER URGES PRIVATE SECTOR SUPPORT 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
 
¶5. (C) Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi attended the full day of 
activities, engaging directly with private sector attendees and 
challenging his Pakistani Government colleagues to learn from the 
private sector about which economic policies and approaches work 
best.  Embracing commercial diplomacy as a new function for the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qureshi signaled his intent to play a 
more assertive role in economic policy making.  In his remarks, 
Qureshi noted Pakistan's need to harness the combined power of 
foreign assistance and private sector investment to address the 
root causes of terrorism, in his view social and economic 
 
deprivation. 
 
 
 
¶6. (C) Qureshi referred to the FoDP's Malakand Pilot Project, a 
development strategy for the areas of the Northwest Frontier 
Province affected by Pakistani counterinsurgency operations last 
year which was endorsed at the September FoDP Summit, as a model 
for addressing the root causes of terrorism.  He also noted that 
South Asia is the only region of the world that does not enjoy the 
fruits of economic integration due to continued bilateral tensions 
between India and Pakistan.  He repeated his call for a "paradigm 
shift" in Indo-Pak relations from one of "conflict to cooperation." 
Qureshi's speech and tone received some positive press coverage, 
but many Pakistani media outlets sharply criticized the Government 
for not taking advantage of the opportunity to attract foreign 
investment to Pakistan. 
 
 
 
HEAD OF DELEGATION AND DCM IN ISLAMABAD GERALD FEIERSTEIN HAS 
CLEARED THIS CABLE IN SUBSTANCE. 
SIBERELL